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LIBRARY 

OF  THK 

UNIVERSITY  .OF  CALIFORNIA. 

GIT^T  OK 

PACIFIC  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY. 


^Accession      :w.84665          Class 


WHERE  THE  SUNLIGHT  CANNOT  COME,  THE  DOCTOR  MUST." 


THE 


WEST  EWING 


IMPROVEMENT 


ASSOCIATION 


YOU  HAVE  DECIDEDLY  TO  LOOK  TO  YOUR  WELLS." 


PRICE,  50  CENTS. 


rp  ORGANIZED 

iHE  OCT 

1878. 


WEST  EWING 


IMPROVEMENT 


Proceedings  of  Anni- 
versary Meeting,  held  in 
Ewing  Church,  Sept.  2d, 
1880,  and  other  valuable 
matter. 


ASSOCIATION. 


TRENTON,   N.   J. ! 
MACCKELLISH    &   QUIGLEY,    STEAM    POWER    PRINTERS. 


Entered,  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1880,  by  the 
WEST  EWING  IMPROVEMENT  ASSOCIATION, 

P.  O.  Address,  Greensburg,  Mercer  Co.,  N.  J., 
in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  SECOND  ANNUAL  MEETING. 
ADDRESS  OP  THE  PRESIDENT. 

ADDRESS  OF  HON.  B.  G.  NORTHROP,  OF  CONNECTICUT. 
ADDRESS  OF  COL.  GEORGE  E.  WARING,  JR.,  OF  RHODE  ISLAND. 

REPORT  ON  THE  SANITARY  CONDITION  OF  THE  WESTERN  PART  OF  EWING 
TOWNSHIP,  BY  COL.  GEORGE  E.  WARING,  JR.,  OF  NEWPORT,  RHODE 
ISLAND. 

SYNOPSIS  OF  SUCH  LAWS  OF  THE  STATE  OF  NEW  JERSEY  AS  CONCERN 
A  RURAL  COMMUNITY. 

CONSTITUTION  AND  BY-LAWS. 
INDEX. 


COMMUNICATIONS,  IN  REGARD  TO 
THE  WORK  OF  THE  ASSOCIATION, 
MAY  BE  ADDRESSED  TO 

HARVEY  Bow.  FISK, 
GREENSBURO, 

MERCER  Co.,  N.  J., 
OR,  P.  O.  Box  235, 
NEW  YORK,  N,  Y. 


_84665 


OUR  MOTTO. 
"One  for  All  and  All  for  One.' 


OUR  PRIZES. 

I.  This  Association  offers  to  the  resident  of  Ewing  Town- 
ship who  shall  set  out  and  maintain  the  longest  and  best 
row  of  trees  along  the  public  highway,  in  conformity  with 
By-Law   II,  or   the   recommendations   of  Mr.  Northrop's 
address,  a  PRIZE  OP  TWENTY-FIVE  DOLLARS,  pay- 
able September  1st,  1881. 

II.  This  Association  offers  to  the  Board  of  School  Trustees 
of  either  the  Scudder's  Falls,  Biimingham  or  Brookville 
District,  which  shall  effect  the  greatest  material  improve- 
ment in  or  about  the  school-house  of  their  district,  before 
July  1st,  1881,  a  PRIZE  OF  TWENTY-FIVE  DOLLARS, 
payable  on  that  date,  and  to  be  used  by  the  Trustees  receiv- 
ing it  for  further  improvements  of  an  sesthetic  nature. 

See,  also,  By-Law  I. 


THE 

WEST  EWING  IMPROVEMENT  ASSOCIATION. 


ANNIVERSARY    MEETING. 


PHONOGRAPHICALLY    REPORTED    BY    GEORGE    E.    MILES. 


The  proceedings  were  opened  with  prayer  by  the  Rev.  S.  T. 
Lowrie,  D.D.,  after  which  it  was  moved  that  the  reading  of  the 
minutes  of  the  last  meeting  be  dispensed  with.  The  motion 
was  adopted. 

The  Treasurer,  Mr.  Charles  J.  Fisk,  then  presented  his  report, 
which  was  adopted. 

The  Committee  on  Election  of  Officers  then  reported,  through 
its  chairman,  the  following  names  for  officers  of  the  Association 
for  the  ensuing  year : 

President — A.  B.  GREEN. 

Vice-Presidents — WM.  A.  HOUGH,  JOHN  H.  SCUDDER. 

Secretary — JOHN  V.  GREEN. 

Treasurer — CHAS.  J.  FISK. 

The  report  was  accepted  and  the  officers  named  were  declared 
elected. 

The  President,  Mr.  A.  B.  Green,  in  introducing  the  first 
speaker,  spoke  as  follows  : 

It  may  be  well  to  state  that  the  object  of  this  meeting  is  to 
further  the  cause  we  are  engaged  in  as  an  association.  The 
object  for  which  the  Association  was  established  two  years  ago 
is  well  known,  probably,  to  all.  It  is  to  beautify  our  homes  in 


6 

the  neighborhood,  and  make  this  township  a  more  pleasant  and 
desirable  place  to  live  in.  We  have  accomplished  something  in 
these  last  two  years.  Through  our  direct  influence  about  two 
hundred  shade  trees  have  been  set  out  along  the  roads  and  side- 
walks. We  have  made  a  piece  of  road  which  we  think  is  a 
pattern  for  the  whole  county — a  road  which  formerly  bore  the 
reputation  of  being  the  worst  in  the  place.  We  have  found,  in 
conferring  together,  that  much  yet  remains  to  be  done,  but  we 
are  assured  that,  by  co-operation,  we  can  do  still  more.  The 
setting  out  of  these  two  hundred  trees  has  beeri  done  with  great 
cheerfulness,  mostly  by  people  owning  the  property  on  which 
the  trees  are  planted,  and  as  the  work  proceeds  I  suppose 
greater  interest  will  be  excited.  The  road  I  mentioned  a 
moment  ago  has  cost  the  township  nothing,  having  been  made 
by  voluntary  labor  and  subscription.  It  is  true  that  prejudices 
have  existed  in  our  community,  as  I  suppose  they  exist  in  all. 
These  are  a  great  hindrance  to  our  progress ;  but  we  can  over- 
come them  by  union  among  ourselves  and  interchange  of  views 
and  plans.  We  are,  of  course,  very  tenacious  of  our  own  opin- 
ions, and  think  we  know  a  great  deal  about  how  this,  that  and 
the  other  thing  ought  to  be  done ;  but,  after  all,  we  must  admit 
that  our  own  wisdom  cannot  be  compared  to  the  long  experi- 
ence of  those  who  have  carefully  studied  and  scientifically 
investigated  the  matter.  We  find  ourselves,  by  frequent  com- 
parison of  views,  more  and  more  of  a  like  opinion ;  we  establish 
and  improve  our  social  intercourse.  One  gentleman  will  be 
found  to  know  better  than  another  how  to  plant  a  tree,  or  how 
to  trim  one;  another  knows  better  how  to  plant  or  trim  a 
hedge ;  some  lady  possesses  a  rare  flower,  or  knows  precisely 
how  to  raise  one,  and  through  our  monthly  meetings  we  gain 
this  varied  knowledge  and  profit  by  it. 

We  could  name  instances  where  the  conditions  of  health 
have  been  improved,  but,  inasmuch  as  we  have  others  with  us 
who  can  instruct  us  on  these  important  topics,  we  will  listen  to 
them,  and  we  hope,  through  the  dissemination  of  such  ideas,  to 
see  more  unite  with  us,  until  it  becomes  the  interest  and  busi- 
ness of  the  entire  neighborhood. 

I  have  the  honor  to  introduce  to  you  the  Hon.  B.  G.  Nor- 
throp, Secretary  of  the  Connecticut  State  Board  of  Education. 


Address  of  Hon.  B.  G.  Northrop. 

MR.  PRESIDENT,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN — It  seems  to  me  very 
fitting  that  the  gentlemen  who  served  so  successfully  during 
the  past  year  should  be  unanimously  re-elected ;  and  if  you 
will  only  tell  us  how  it  is  that  such  nicely-made  roads  as  those 
you  have  been  completing  the  past  year  could  be  made  for  four 
dollars  out  of  the  treasury,  we  would  like  to  carry  the  art  into 
Connecticut,  for  it  certainly  costs  us  a  great  deal  more.  I  have 
been  delighted — first,  in  seeing  what  the  plan  is,  as  stated  in  • 
the  village  improvement  paper,  and  then  in  driving  about  the 
town  this  afternoon  and  observing  what  has  actually  been 
accomplished.  I  congratulate  you  on  your  complete  success  in 
driving  out  of  Ewing  the  "  placard "  nuisance,  or  advertising 
fiend ;  for  I  have  not  seen  a  single  one  of  those  abominations 
— which  in  Connecticut  are  prohibited  by  law  under  severe 
penalties — on  any  fence,  or  barn,  or  board,  anywhere  in  the  drive 
which  it  has  been  my  privilege  to  take.  I  am  very  glad  to  see 
that  already  you  have  planted  so  extensively  the  fine  Osage 
orange  hedge  [See  Note] — perhaps,  for  this  climate,  one  of  the 
very  best,  and  one  which  in  future  will  be  a  great  adornment  to 
the  place ;  and  that  you  are  starting  so  grandly  in  the  planting  of 
trees ;  and  I  am  pleased,  also,  with  the  statement  just  made  that 
nearly  all  the  trees  planted  have  been  set  out  by  the  farmers  who 
owned  the  adjoining  land.  You  are  indeed  to  be  congratulated 
that  such  a  forward  step  has  been  taken  in  the  very  important 
matter  of  roads.  [See  Note.]  The  road  has  been,  in  all  ages,  the 
index  of  the  civilization  of  any  country  or  community.  If  we  had 
no  other  remains  of  the  civilization  and  intelligence  of  the  ancient 
Roman  Empire,  its  grand,  old  roads,  as  they  still  stand,  would 
tell  us  the  story ;  for  they  show  the  highest  of  all  ancient 
civilization.  If  there  is  progress  in  any  community,  the  roads 
will  indicate  the  fact.  I  have  been  glad  to  see,  as  at  Scudder'^ 
Falls,  so  much  improvement  made  around  the  school-house  by 
the  introduction  of  that  neat  hedge  of  American  arbor  vita?.  It 
was  cheering  to  notice  that  on  the  lawn  at  the  left  side  as  you 
come  out  (which  the  children  had  been  requested  not  to  tread 
upon),  not  a  foot- fall,  or  a  trace  of  one,  was  impressed  on  that 
ground  reserved  for  turf. 

I  noticed,  on  the  way  up  from  New  York  City,  very  beautiful 
adornments  around  many  of  the  railway  stations  on  the  line  of 


8 

the  Jersey  Central.  That  is  one  of  the  improvements  which,  I 
have  no  doubt,  you  will  incite  the  railway  managers  to  apply 
here.  You  are  doing  so  much  for  yourselves  that  it  will  be  a 
very  little  thing  for  you  to  ask  the  corporation  to  appropriate 
a  section  of  land  here  and  there,  at  a  station  which  is  to  become 
so  important  in  the  future,  for  the  purpose  of  a  park.  I  was 
delighted  the  other  day,  traveling  along  on  the  Shore  line,  to 
find  a  beautiful  little  park  at  the  railway  station  of  Brockton, 
New  York,  on  the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern  Road.  I 
said  to  the  depot  agent,  "How  is  this?"  He  replied,  "The 
superintendent  desires  us  to  improve  our  grounds."  "  How 
does  he  communicate  that  desire  to  you?"  "Well,"  said  the 
depot  agent,  "he  sends  out  a  printed  circular."  I  afterward 
secured  one  of  these  circulars,  and  it  read  as  follows :  "  The 
depot  master  is  required  to  occupy  his  leisure,  and  the  leisure 
of  the  hands,  in  adorning  the  grounds,  and  to  see  that  there  is 
no  rubbish  or  disfigurement  anywhere  around  the  railway 
station."  As  a  result,  this  depot  agent  had  developed  that  beau- 
tiful little  park.  I  counted  there  two  hundred  and  forty-six 
flowers  of  different  kinds,  besides  some  thirty  different  varieties 
of  trees.  It  was  a  gem.  Other  railways  are  beginning  to  do  the 
same  thing.  North  Conway  and  Plymouth,  in  New  Hampshire ; 
Stonington  and  Pomfret,  in  Connecticut ;  Auburn  and  Kingston, 
in  Rhode  Island,  are  good  illustrations.  The  Pennsylvania 
Central  is  setting  a  good  example  all  along  "the  line  for  forty 
miles  west  of  Philadelphia ;  and  a  little  persuasion  on  the  part 
of  this  Association  will  carry  the  point  with  the" railway  mana- 
gers at  this  depot. 

On  conference  with  friends  here,  I  think  it  better  to  have 
an  off-hand  talk  with  you,  and,  therefore,  throw  aside  the 
written  lecture  which  I  had  arranged  to  deliver. 

The  question  has  been  asked,  What  has  been  done  in  the  way 
of  rural  improvement  elsewhere?  and  I  say  "rural,"  rather 
than  "  village  "  improvement.  I  discard  the  word  "  village," 
for  in  towns  where  I  am  working,  I  want  to  carry  out  the  idea 
that  this  business  concerns  everybody  in  the  township,  and  we 
cannot  bring  about  the  best  results  unless  we  benefit  all  sections 
and  all  classes,  and  thus  secure  the  co-operation  of  every 
citizen.  I  want  every  one,  however  distant,  to  feel  that  he  has 


some,  however  remote,  concern  in  this  rural  improvement. 
What  is  the  history  of  these  associations  ? 

1.  The  first  rural  improvement  association,  so  far  as  I  know, 
was  formed  in  New  Haven,  in  1799,  under  the  lead  of  James 
Hillhouse,  the  leading  subscriber  and  manager.  He  called  it 
the  Village  Green  Association,  and  secured  a  subscription  of 
$1,500.  One  man,  in  the  generosity  of  his  great  heart,  subscribed 
five  gallons  of  rum — as  good  as  gold,  according  to  the  theory  of 
that  day.  You  may  be  sure  it  was  not  benzine,  as  you  cannot, 
what  you  get  now.  What  has  been  the  result  of  that  grand 
enterprise?  Why,  all  the  majestic  elms,  nearly,  of  New  Haven 
were  planted  then;  and  it  is  due  to  that  Association,  started  at 
that  time,  that  New  Haven  is  known  throughout  the  land  and 
over  the  world  as  the  "Elm  City,"  while  its  beauty,  acquired 
through  these  magnificent  trees,  has  attracted  great  numbers  of 
wealthy  citizens,  so  that  the  annual  taxes  on  the  property 
there  attracted  by  the  existence  of  the  great  elms  exceed  by  far 
all  that  the  elms  ever  cost. 

As  far  as  I  can  learn,  the  next  volunteer  association  was 
founded  about  fifty  years  ago,  in  Heidelberg.  Suffice  it  to  say, 
the  efforts  of  that  association  in  rebuilding  the  old  castle,  and 
repairing  the  magnificent  drive-way  up  to  it,  is  the  secret, 
together  with  the  planting  their  beautiful  avenues  and  parks 
with  fine  trees,  of  the  fact  that  you  find,  on  an  average,  eight 
hundred  English  residents  there,  to  say  nothing  of  the  hundreds 
that  flock  there  from  other  sources.  To  name  two  or  three  other 
European  illustrations — many  of  you  have  seen  how  attractive 
Baden-Baden  and  Wiesbaden,  in  Germany,  and  Interlaken,  in 
Switzerland,  have  been  made  by  similar  rural  adornments.  The 
Swiss  understand  making  their  homes  attractive.  Out  of  485,000 
households,  about  465,000  in  Switzerland  are  householders.  You 
cannot  match  that  in  America;  and  there  are  no  people  on  the 
face  of  this  globe,  unless  it  be  the  Japanese,  who  love  their 
country  more,  and  are  more  devoted  to  its  interests,  than  are 
the  Swiss. 

More  than  a  century  ago,  a  grand  work  was  accomplished 
(though  not  by  a  rural  improvement  association)  in  a  town  in 
Connecticut,  which  was  a  subject  of  conversation  at  the  dinner- 
table  to-day,  and  thus  was  brought  to  my  mind.  It  was  the 


10 

town  of  Stratford.  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  once  rector  at  Stratford 
and  afterwards  president  of  Kings  College  (since  the  Revolution, 
Columbia  College),  New  York  City,  visiting  England  and  the 
estate  of  Alexander  Pope,  at  Twickenham,  was  struck  with  the 
beauty  of  the  Syrian  willow  growing  there.  The  tradition  is, 
that  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  an  English  merchant 
doing  business  in  Aleppo  and  Smyrna,  brought  the  poet  a 
package  of  figs  incased  in  a  basket  of  unpeeled  osiers.  Noticing 
that  one  of  the  scions  penetrating  into  the  moist  figs  was 
budding,  Pope  carefully  planted  it.  Thence  grew  the  famous 
Twickenham  willow  that  became  a  favorite  with  the  poet,  and 
finally  with  the  English  people.  President  Johnson  brought 
scions  to  Stratford,  whence  it  was  widely  spread  through  New 
England  and  New  York.  This  incident  intensified  the  interest 
of  the  Johnson  family  in  tree  planting,  who  took  the  lead  in 
this  grand  work  in  Stratford.  No  town  of  its  size  on  the  Shore 
Line,  between  New  York  and  Boston,  is  adorned  with  so  many 
stately,  ancient  trees  as  this.  Much  as  this  willow  was  admired 
for  private  grounds,  with  its  long,  drooping  pendants,  it  was  not 
deemed  best  for  public  streets,  for  which  the  elm,  maple,  plane, 
and  other  natives  were  wisely  preferred.  Now  there  is  nothing 
but  its  broad  avenues  adorned  with  noble  trees,  especially  to 
distinguish  Stratford  from  any  other  of  a  dozen  places  along  the 
Shore  Line ;  but,  notwithstanding  the  nuisance  of  mosquitoes 
(bred  in  the  adjoining  salt  marshes),  Stratford  has  attracted 
many  wealthy  men,  through  the  exceeding  beauty  of  its  streets 
and  avenues.  No  one  goes  there  without  offering  up  a  sentiment 
of  thanksgiving  to  old  Dr.  Johnson  for  the  controlling  influence 
he  exerted  in  the  beautifying  of  the  town. 

But  of  more  recent  improvement  associations,  Stockbridge, 
Massachusetts,  was  the  pioneer,  and  that  one  was  started  by 
Mary  Hopkins,  the  niece  of  President  Mark  Hopkins,  of  Wil- 
liams College.  There  was  no  general  law  of  incorporation  at 
that  time,  but  a  special  act  was  passed,  and  that  has  been  in 
operation  some  twenty-eight  years,  and  what  has  been  the  result? 
When  the  association  began  its  work,  Stockbridge  was  a  wild, 
rugged  place.  I  remember  it  when,  in  my  boyhood,  I  traveled 
through  the  Housatonic  valley.  Now  it  is,  by  far,  the  most 
beautiful  town  in  all  New  England.  When  Miss  Hopkins,  now 


11 

Mrs.  J.  C.  Goodrich,  inaugurated  this  association,  (and  it  may  be 
a  good  hint  to  continue  this  plan  of  having  an  annual  festival,) 
the  idea  was  adopted  of  having,  on  the  fourth  Wednesday  in 
August,  a  gathering  of  the  people  from  all  parts  of  the  town,  on 
a  common  platform,  without  reference  to  party  or  denomination, 
and  that  idea  has  been  carried  out  and  kept  up  to  this  day.  They 
claim  that  nature  has  always  smiled  upon  them,  as  she  does 
upon  you  this  afternoon,  and  that  they  have  sunny  heavens 
above  them  on  anniversary  day.  They  have  had  poems,  addresses 
and  post-prandial  speeches,  and  the  re-unions  have  done  them 
good,  and  stirred  them  to  new  enterprise  and  energy. 

One  of  the  grandest  results  of  these  associations,  as  it  should 
ever  be,  is  the  promotion  of  fraternal  feeling.  In  man)7  country 
towns  there  is  needless  strife.  Such  alienations  destroy  the 
charm  of  country  homes.  Everything  should  be  done  to  bind 
the  people  together  in  the  ties  of  a  common  interest,  and  you  can 
do  that  in  no  way  so  well  as  by  bringing  them  to  work  together, 
as  you  are  working  for  yourselves.  The  beautiful  decorations 
of  this  church  to-day  are  profuse  beyond  what  I  have  ever  seen. 
1  perceive  in  each  of  the  slips  two  or  three  bouquets,  besides  the 
ferns  and  other  flowers,  and  these  fitting. symbols  of  the  sheaf 
of  wheat.  I  say  this  does  you  good.  It  has  benefited  the  ladies 
whose  labors  have  accomplished  this  result.  The  interests,  the 
sympathies,  the  friendly  feelings  of  this  whole  community,  have 
been  drawn  out,  and  they  will  be  more  likely  to  co-operate  in 
the  good  work  for  improvement;  and  I  feel  sure -that  this  sacred 
place,  instead  of  being  desecrated,  is  hallowed  by  its  occupa- 
tion at  this  time,  for  a  purpose  so  entirely  in  unison  with  all  the 
sacred  designs  of  the  church. 

I  happened  to  be  called  upon  to  give  the  anniversary  address 
at  the  quarter-centennial  at  Stockbridge,  and  as  the  Treasurer 
read  his  report,  after  giving  certain  details  he  said :  "  Every 
acre  of  land  and  every  homestead  in  Stockbridge  has  appreci- 
ated by  reason  of  the  work  of  this  association."  As  many  of 
you  know,  wealthy  men  have  been  attracted  thither  from  far 
and  near.  Meeting  a  wealthy  New  York  merchant,  known  to 
many  of  you,  up  there,  one  day,  I  said :  "  What  brought  you 
here?"  "Well, "said  he,  "I  happened  to  be  passing  through 
Stockbridge,  one  Summer,  and  I  noticed  how  neat  the  streets 


12 

were,  and  how  the  grounds  and  surroundings  of  the  hoases 
were  adorned,  and  I  thought  a  home  here  would  have  increased 
attractions  and  a  higher  value."  And  so  he  put  up  his  elegant 
mansion  there,  and  the  same  has  been  done  by  many  others, 
and  Stockbridge  is  full  of  the  homes  of  wealthy  people. 

What  has  their  improvement  association  done  there  ?  They 
first  looked  out  for  the  planting  of  trees,  and  after  all  the  streets 
were  amply  supplied,  they  turned  their  attention  to  the  side- 
walks. Every  one  agreed  there  to  look  out  for  his  own  frontage. 
I  remember  driving  around  the  place  on  one  occasion,  with  the 
lady  who  founded  the  association,  and  if  anywhere,  three,  four, 
five  or  six  miles  away  from  the  center,  she  found  weeds  growing 
in  the  road-way,  she  jogged  the  memory  of  the  farmer,  and  the 
road  was  cleaned  by  those  who  owned  the  adjoining  property. 
That  will  be  the  result  in  Ewing.  I  noticed,  in  driving  along 
to-day,  that  in  a  number  of  roads  where  you  have  put  out  lines 
of  trees,  there  are  some  ugly  weeds  growing  alongside  the  fence, 
It  will  be  a  very  easy  matter  to  have  those  cut  down  once  or 
twice  or  thrice  a  season,  and  it  will  add  greatly  to  the  beauty  of 
the  place.  They  look  out  for  that  at  Stockbridge,  and,  as  one 
thing  led  to  another,  there  soon  came  along  a  former  son  of 
Stockbridge,  and,  seeing  what  had  been  done,  he  said:  "I  must 
have  a  hand  in  this,"  and  so  he  gave  them  $20,000  for  a  library. 
Another  man  said,  "  I  will  join  in  this  good  work,  and  give  them 
a  library  building."  So  they  have  there  a  beautiful  library  and 
reading-room,  and  keep  it  in  operation.  It  all  springs  from  the 
interest  awakened  among  the  whole  people,  by  a  village  improve- 
ment association.  I  have  no  time  for  further  details  regarding 
the  work  of  this  enterprising  organization.  I  have  talked  at 
their  anniversaries  many  times.  I  have  found  them  all  aglow 
with  enthusiasm. 

Ten  years  ago,  visiting  New  Milford,  Connecticut,  I  met  there 
two  young  ladies,  to  whom  I  said:  "  You  ought  to  start  a  rural 
improvement  association  here."  They  decided  to  do  so,  and  set 
to  work.  I  gave  them  the  plans.  They  got  up  a  fair  that  netted 
$800,  and  what  has  been  the  result?  From  a  rough,  rugged 
town,  New  Milford  has  been  made  the  most  beautiful  town  in 
the  State  of  Connecticut.  No  town  in  the  country,  in  the  same 
limits  of  time,  has  made  such  a  complete  transformation.  There 


13 

was  a  wide  street,  but  the  carts,  crossing  in  all  directions,  had 
cut  the  road  up.  In  wet  weather  a  brook  ran  through  the 
center;  in  dry  times  there  was  an  unseemly  line  of  mud.  They 
ran  a  sewer  through  the  whole,  leveled  the  ground,  enclosed  it, 
made  concrete  sidewalks,  and  a  little  ribbon  of  lawn  between 
the  fences  and  the  sidewalk  and  between  the  sidewalk  and 
gutter.  Then  came  the  drive-way  on  each  side,  and  a  parallel- 
ogram was  formed,  and  adorned  with  flowers  and  trees.  I  was 
in  New  Milford  the  other  day,  and  a  prominent  gentleman 
said:  "Well,  we  spend  money  pretty  freely,  but  nobody  grum- 
bles." It  has  not  been  done  from  taxation  at  all ;  all  is  volun- 
tary; but  no  one  would  go  back  to  the  barbaric  condition  that 
existed  ten  years  ago,  even  were  it  necessary  to  spend  ten-fold 
more.  As  at  Stockbridge,  they  are  appreciating  the  results  in 
the  rise  of  real  estate  and  the  increased  demand  for  homes  and 
lands  in  the  town. 

Many  of  you  know  of  the  present  beauty  of  Litchfield.  Per- 
haps some  of  you  saw  an  article  in  the  New  York  papers  some 
time  ago,  about  the  beauty  of  Litchfield.  The  place  was  living 
on  the  laurels  of  the  last  century,  and  was  going  into  decay,  and 
everything  was  neglected  ;  but  seven  years  ago  they  started  an 
association  of  this  kind.  I  met,  while  there,  a  wealthy  gentle- 
man from  one  of  our  cities.  "  What  led  you  to  come  up  here," 
said  I.  "  Well,"  said  he,  "  you  would  not  have  got  me  to  come 
up  here  if  the  old  fogy  spirit  prevailed  as  it  did  ten  years  ago ; 
but  I  found  there  was  a  new  life  and  interest  here,  and  it  was 
worth  while  to  have  a  Summer  home  here."  And  he  erected 
his  stately  mansion  there,  and  luxuriates  in  his  delightful  home 
every  Summer.  Their  boarding-houses  and  hotels  are  not 
ample  enough  to  accommodate  the  parties  that  desire  to  go 
there.  Not  having  the  advantage  of  such  sanitary  wisdom  as 
Col.  Waring  would  have  given  them,  the  place  was  desolated, 
needlessly,  by  a  terrible  fever,  a  few  years  ago,  simply  through 
the  neglect  of  drainage.  It  was  the  place  of  all  others  that 
ought  to  be  the  healthiest;  but  those  very  country  towns,  where 
there  is  every  opportunity  of  securing  the  purest  water  and  best 
air,  sometimes  are  needlessly  ravaged  by  diphtheria  and  typhoid 
fever  and  other  kindred  troubles,  which  proper  care  and  fore- 
sight would  prevent. 


14 

I  have  in  mind  a  little  town  in  Connecticut — Middlebury — 
with  less  than  eight  hundred  population,  and  very  scanty 
means.  I  suppose  that  whole  township  has  not  one-tenth  of 
the  valuation  of  Ewing  ;  and  yet,  by  getting  everybody  enlisted 
in  the  cause,  and  thus,  by  co-operation,  they  have  improved  the 
village  green,  and  the  farmers  have  taken  hold  of  the  matter, 
and  said,  "  We  will  have  no  rubbish,  no  weeds,  nothing  to  dis- 
figure our  homesteads."  You  will  sometimes  go  to  a  village 
and  find  everything  neat,  in  the  main,  and  yet  the  homes  of 
some  neglectful  men  will  be  disfigured  by  broken  cart-wheels, 
or  piles  of  lumber  or  chips,  or  decaying  rubbish  of  one  sort  or 
another.  Everything  of  that  kind  is  cleared  away  from  that 
little  village,  and,  with  only  a  few  farmers  along  the  road,  they 
have  agreed  to  keep  it  in  good  condition.  I  might  give  many 
other  details,  but  have  not  time  for  that. 

The  question  asked  me  since  coming  here  is,  how  to  raise  the 
funds  ?  Probably  you  know  better  how  to  answer  that  question 
than  I  can  tell  you,  because  you  have  among  you  liberal  men 
who  have  already  contributed  generously  to  these  grand  results, 
and  because  the  detailed  plans  must  always  be  determined  by 
local  conditions;  but  I  say,  in  general — 

1.  Enlist  the  ladies.     Many  of  our  most  successful  associations 
have  been  started  by  ladies,  and  all  need  their  sympathy  and 
efficient  co-operation.     I  always  feel  sure  of  success  in  any  town 
where  two  or  three  earnest  ladies  take  hold  of  this  matter.     This 
is  woman's  special  sphere. 

2.  Interest  the  youth  of  the  town  in  this  goo'd  work.     Give 
the   children  something  to  do  in  improving  the  grounds  and 
surroundings  of  their  homes,  if  not  the  road-sides.     The  New 
York  "  Evening  Post  "  well  says  :     "  They,  more  readily  than 
anybody  else,  become  interested  in  such  matters,  and  they  may 
easily  be  induced  to  bring  trees  from  the  forest,  and  to  plant 
them  where  they  are  needed,  without  cost  to  anybody,  and 
without  other  than  willing  and  eager  work.     How  great  the 
good  is  that  boys  and  girls  derive  from  their  own  active  interest  in 
such  things,  every  attentive  observer  of  youth  knows.     The  edu- 
cational effect  of  such  employments  and  interests,  the  refining 
influence,  the  aesthetic  improvement  wrought,  the  enlargement 
of  heart  and  mind  which  grow,  directly  and  indirectly,  out  of 


15 

work  of  this  kind,  done  by  united  effort  by  the  boys  and  girls  of 
a  town,  under  the  stimulus  of  public  approval,  are  not  to  be  set 
down  in  words  or  expressed  in  figures.  In  any  town,  where 
juvenile  enthusiasm  is  awakened  in  public  improvement,  the 
schools  will  accomplish  better  results,  the  library  will  be  more 
freely  and  profitably  used,  there  will  be  less  idleness,  less 
wrong-doing,  habits  will  be  better,  aspirations  higher,  the  tone 
of  life  stronger.  Every  such  town  must  improve  in  intelligence, 
taste,  public  spirit  and  morality,  which  is  decency  of  life  reduced 
to  principle,  quite  as  positively  as  it  grows  in  external  beauty. 

3.  Get  subscriptions  from  the  more  willing  or  wealthy  resi- 
dents. 

4.  Invite  the  co-operation  of  non-resident  sons  of  the  town, 
whom  fortune  has  favored,  who  are  often  glad  to  gratefully 
remember  the  mother  soil  that  bore  them,  and   thus  build  a 
monument,   each   for  himself,   and    be    henceforth    gratefully 
recognized  as  the  benefactor  of  his  townsmen  and  of  future 
generations.      A    beautiful   village   of  tasteful,   happy  homes^ 
would  be  a  proud  monument  for  any  man.     There  is  a  rare 
luxury  in  witnessing  the  fruits  of  one's  benefactions,  giving  while 
living  and  able  to  enjoy  the  rich  results,  rather  than  leaving  lega- 
cies to  be  lessened  or  lost  in  the  wrangles  of  contending  heirs. 

5.  Money  may  be  raised  by  the  annual  payment  of  member- 
ship fees,  or  by  life  memberships. 

6.  In   some  towns,   fairs  are  held  to  raise  money   for   this 
purpose. 

7.  In  some  instances,  prizes  have  been  offered  for  tree  planting 
— giving,  for  example,  $75,  $50.  $40  and  $30  for  the  longest  and 
best  rows  of  trees  by  any  road-side.      Two  hundred  dollars, 
offered  in  this  way,  in  one  town,  stimulated  an  extraordinary 
interest  in  tree  planting. 

As  I  have  intimated,  one  of  the  prime  ends  which  we  keep  in 
view  in  the  fifty  or  sixty  associations  which  we  have  in  Con- 
necticut, is  to  cultivate  public  spirit,  and  foster  town  pride. 
These  are  sentiments  of  great  influence  and  great  value,  and  the 
want  of  them  is  greatly  to  be  deplored,  for  it  indicates  a  serious 
detect  of  character.  The  man  who  does  not  love  to  honor  and 
cherish  the  town  that  gave  him  birth,  has  no  heart  in  his  bosom. 
I  have  in  mind  a  railway  king,  a  millionaire,  who  never  visits 


16 

the  town  where  he  first  saw  the  light,  but  leaves  his  old  home- 
stead to  decay,  and  neglect,  and  slight ;  and  his  character  cor- 
responds with  his  actions.  The  cold,  selfish,  sinister  soul  is 
sterile  in  heroic  virtues,  but  the  sentiment  which  honors  one's 
homestead  and  one's  town,  is  noble  and  ennobling.  It  is  a 
prime  element  of  true  manhood,  and  has  ever  characterized  the 
greatest  and  best  of  men. 

I  need  not  say  a  word  on  the  prospective  influence  of  this 
association  in  promoting  public  health,  when  you  have  secured 
the  services  of  a  gentleman  so  thoroughly  competent  to  discuss 
this  subject.  Some  of  our  country  towns,  naturally  favorable 
to  health  and  longevity,  have  suffered  fearfully  and  needlessly 
from  the  ravages  of  diseases,  evidently  caused  by  neglect  of 
hygienic  laws.  In  many  towns,  great  improvement  has  been 
made  in  the  matter  of  drainage,  removal  of  waste,  and  guarding 
wells  and  water  supplies  from  impurities. 

Your  association,  starting  so  vigorously,  will,  I  am  confident, 
accomplish  grand  results  in  improving  the  roads  and  road-sides 
and  planting  trees,  not  only  within  your  own  limits,  but  in 
creating  a  healthy  public  sentiment  which  will  extend  the  good 
work  through  all  the  approaches  to  the  town.  I  would  like  to 
have  you  give  an  invitation  to  Trenton  to  meet  you  at  your 
boundary  line  with  a  continuous  line  of  trees  on  every  road 
that  runs  towards  Trenton;  and  I  believe  that,  under  the 
influence  of  my  esteemed  friend,  the  friend  and  superintendent 
of  the  public  schools,  Hon.  E.  A.  Apgar,  Trenton  would  accept 
the  challenge.  There  are  many  pretty  towns*  that  give  such 
challenges,  one  to  another,  and  carry  them  out,  too.  It  is  easy 
enough  to  accomplish,  if  you  can  succeed  once  in  arousing 
ambition. 

Many  of  the  roads  in  England  and  France  are  made  enchant- 
ing by  these  continuous  lines  of  trees.  You  remember  the 
story  of  the  two  men  who  laid  a  wager  that  each  could  tell  the 
prettiest  region  in  England,  and  they  chose  an  umpire,  and 
paid  him  the  money.  Then  each  wrote  his  decision,  and,  on 
handing  them  over  to  the  umpire,  it  was  found  that  the  choice 
of  one  was  the  road  from  Kenilworth  to  Coventry,  and  the 
other's  selection  was  the  road  from  Coventry  to  Kenilworth; 
and  the  main  attraction  of  this  road  was  the  magnificent  trees 


17 

that  shaded  the  route.  Among  those  trees,  some  of  you  will 
remember  that  grand  old  tree,  the  Cedar  of  Lebanon.  It  is  not 
of  very  rapid  growth,  but  it  is  worth  trying,  and  your  children 
and  children's  children  will  thank  you  for  it.  I  have  no  doubt 
it  may  be  grown  here.  It  thrives  in  Philadelphia.  My  friend 
at  my  right  was  educated  at  East  Hartford,  and  he  remembers 
the  grand  old  avenues  of  elms  there.  I  can  hardly  tell  you 
how  magnificent  those  triple  rows  of  trees  are.  When  the 
French  forces  under  Rochambeau  were  stationed  at  East  Hart- 
ford, for  their  Winter  quarters,  Rochambeau,  according  to  the 
traditions  of  that  day,  said:  "Now,  boys,  let's  give  them  a 
specimen  of  French  taste."  Just  at  that  time  MpHHB  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  planting  trees  on  the  way -sides  in  France 
for  hundreds  of  miles.  So  the  boys  set  to  work  and  planted 
those  magnificent  elms,  which  occur  at  short  intervals  from 
Windsor  down  through  East  Hartford  to  Glastenbury.  Grander 
ones  it  would  be  hard  to  find.  Thanks  to  Rochambeau. 

One  of  the  aims  of  village  improvement  should  be  the  making 
of  sidewalks.  There  is  room  for  much  to  be  done  in  that  direc- 
tion here.  Perhaps  the  gravel  is  not  at  hand.  The  ordinary 
coal  ashes  spread  along,  the  coarser  below  and  the  finer  on  top, 
make  a  very  good  substitute,  and  it  can  very  easily  and  cheaply 
be  accomplished.  [See  Note.] 

To  quicken  the  intellectual  life  of  the  people,  is  one  aim  of  these 
associations.  The  founding  of  libraries  is  an  important  aid  in 
this  direction.  The  supply  of  good  books  increases  the  demand. 
A  taste  for  books  has  been  awakened  in  many  towns  by  a 
well-selected  library,  where  the  improvement  has  been  as 
marked  in  the  quality  as  in  the  quantity  of  the  books  read. 
Such  a  library  naturally  becomes  the  pride  and  treasure  of  a 
town,  rendering  it  a  more  desirable  place  of  residence  and 
adding  attractions  to  every  intelligent  home  within  its  limits. 

The  formation  of  book  clubs  favors  the  intellectual  improvement 
of  a  community.  A  score  or  more  associate  together  and  agree 
each  to  pay  from  one  to  five  dollars  a  year  for  the  purchase  of 
a  sort  of  circulating  library.  Sometimes  they  meet  once  a 
month  to  discuss  and  vote  upon  the  books  to  be  purchased, 
thus  promoting  social  improvement  as  well  as  mental  culture. 
The  books  are  circulated  among  the  members  in  rotation,  the 
2 


18 

members  retaining  volumes  each  a  fortnight.  At  the  end  of 
the  year,  these  books  are  sold  at  a  low  rate,  and  often  to  the 
members,  and  the  avails  used  for  the  purchase  of  other  books. 
The  books  usually  selected  are-  travels,  histories,  biographies, 
popular  treatises  on  science  and  philosophy,  and  sometimes 
books  of  choice  poetry  and  romance.  Good  fellowship,  as 
well  as  intellectual  improvement,  are  sometimes  promoted  by 
organizing  reading  circles.  Selections  in  prose  and  poetry,  often 
a  play  of  Shakespeare,  the  several  parts  having  been  previously 
assigned,  are  the  subjects  of  careful  study  and  drill.  The  social 
influence  of  these  weekly  circles  is  sometimes  extended  by  a 
reheaMrtWBf  £-more  public  character.  The  support  of  a  village 
reading-room,  supplied  with  the  leading  journals  of  the  day 
— daily,  weekly,  monthly  or  bi-monthly — is  a  good  result 
accomplished  in  many  towns.  A  course  of  lyceum  lectures  is 
sustained  by  many  rural  improvement  associations,  the  profits 
of  which  is  their  "  benefit,"  while  the  social  opportunities  thus 
opened  are  clear  gain. 

An  annual  festival  under  the  direction  of  the  rural  improve- 
ment association,  tends  to  deepen  public  interest  in  this  work, 
and  to  fraternize  the  whole  people  of  a  town.  In  some  towns, 
literary  exercises,  addresses  and  music  fill  the  programme,  and 
occasionally,  though  not  commonly,  a  collation  and  post-prandial 
speeches  become  another  bond  of  union  and  fellowship.  In  the 
rigid,  and  sometimes  frigid,  state  of  rural  life  too  often  found 
among  us,  we  need  more  heartily  to  cultivate  the  social  amenities 
and  learn  the  art  of  "  turning  work  into  play."  The  supposed 
monotony  and  dullness  of  country  life  drive  many  to  the  city., 
It  is  wise  for  our  farmers  to  multiply  occasions  for  social 
enjoyment.  The  arbor-day  festival  may  help  to  counteract  the 
tendency  of  rural  life  to  isolation  and  seclusion,  lifting  out  of 
the  ruts  of  a  plodding  monotony,  promoting  neighborly  feeling 
and  strengthening  social  ties.  The  rural  laborers  in  Switzerland 
and  Germany  socialize  far  more  than  American  farmers.  Their 
festive  spirit  is  a  strongly-marked  feature  of  their  character.  It 
is  manifested  in  the  family,  in  neighborhood  greetings  and 
meetings,  in  schools,  in  rifle  feasts,  in  processions,  and  various 
social  gatherings.  They  have  a  passion  for  nature,  and  love  to 
frequent  their  beautiful  groves  and  gardens.  This  genial  spirit 


19 

is  everywhere  fostered  by  music,  both  vocal  and  instrumental. 
As  a  result,  there  is  an  inexpressible  something  in  the  German 
character  that  carries  mirthful  and  happy  childhood  into  old 
age,  giving  an  added  charm  to  social  life,  and  lightness  and 
cheer  to  sober  work. 

Among  the  minor  aims  of  these  associations  is  the  providing 
of  rustic  seats  under  the  shades  for  the  comfort  of  pedestrians. 
In  the  beautiful  drive  in  West  Ewing  along  the  Delaware,  how 
pleasantly  would  such  simple  seats  suggest  neighborly  kindness 
and  courtesy.  Also,  setting  up  watering-troughs  for  horses,  at 
convenient  points,  where,  from,  adjacent  hill-sides,  never-failing 
springs  facilitate  this  improvement;  furnishing  plans  for  rural 
architecture,  and  for  gates  and  fences ;  in  securing  hedge-rows 
in  room  of  fences;  or,  better  still,  in  villages,  combining  to 
remove  all  fences,  so  that  the  private  grounds  seem  to  unite 
with  the  wayside  in  one  large  lawn ;  the  suggestion  of  neutral 
tints  for  dwellings  and  out-houses,  in  place  of  the  glaring  white 
formerly  so  common;  arrest  of  stray  cattle,  for  strolling  cattle 
usually  are,  and  always  ought  to  be,  outlawed;  preventing 
nuisances — one  of  these  is  the  tearing  up  the  turf  fronting  a 
dwelling-house,  by  inconsiderate  road  menders.  Painting  or 
posting  advertisements  on  the  rocks  or  fences  by  the  myriad 
nostrum  makers  is  a  nuisance  in  my  State  prohibited  by  law,* 
and  it  should  be  everywhere  forbidden.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  the  encroachments  made  upon  the  highway  every  time 
the  stone  wall  or  fence  boundary  is  rebuilt.  The  whole  township 
should  show  an  interest  in  preventing  such  curtailment  of  its 
roadways.  A  rural  improvement  association  can  develop  a 
public  sentiment  which  will  of  itself  correct  these  evils  without 
occasioning  any  neighborhood  strifes  or  alienations.  In  this 
matter,  the  interest  of  one  is  the  interest  of  all.  The  motto  of  the 
Swiss  Confederacy,  "  One  for  all,  and  all  for  one,"  is  the  true  motto 
for  the  several  districts,  and  for  all  the  people  of  a  township. 

Reading  associations  increase  the  influence  of  an  organization 
of  this  kind  very  widely,  and  lectures  as  well.  Its  educational 
bearing  is  of  the  very  highest  consequence.  The  taste  should 
early  be  cultivated.  It  should  be  held  to  be  a  religious  duty  to 
love  the  beautiful  in  nature,  the  beautiful  in  art,  still  more  the 

*Heai  carefully  the  law  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey  on  this  matter.— ED. 


20 

beautiful  in  character ;  for  all  the  beauties,  utilities  and  grand- 
eurs of  nature  culminate  in  the  formation  of  character.  In  the 
very  structure  of  our  being,  God  rebukes  the  ignorance  or  indo- 
lence that  so  often  dwarfs  that  noble  faculty — the  love  of  the 
beautiful — designed  to  be  an  ally  of  virtue  and  religion.  Your 
association  here  will  develop  in  the  minds  of  your  children  a 
love  of  flowers,  vines,  shrubs  and  trees,  all  the  stronger  because 
they  have  helped  in  planting  and  cultivating  them.  In  regard 
to  the  superior  educational  influences  of  rural  scenes  and 
scenery  and  occupations,  Dr.  Bushnell  was  wont  to  say :  "  In 
all  my  reading  of  history,  I  do  not  recollect  the  name  of  a  truly 
great  man  who  spent  his  early  life  in  a  great  city."  Some  one 
said  to  me  the  other  day,  "What  about  Franklin?"  To  which 
I  replied :  "  Franklin  grew  up  in  a  small  village  called 
Boston."  It  was  but  a  village  at  that  time;  and  was  not 
incorporated  as  a  city  till  one  hundred  and  eighteen  years  after 
Franklin  was  born;  but  would  he  have  been  equal  to  the 
achievements  which  the  world  has  admired,  if  he  had  been 
reared  in  a  great  city  like  Paris?  Would  Washington  have 
been  prepared  to  become  the  "  Father  of  his  Country "  if  he 
had  been  dandled  in  the  lap  of  affluence  in  a  great  city  like 
London? 

Nature  is  the  great  educator;  birds,  flowers,  insects  and  all 
animals  are  our  practical  primary  teachers.  Facts  and  objects 
as  best  seen  in  the  country  are  the  earliest  instruments  for  devel- 
oping the  juvenile  faculties.  In  all  our  history,  the  country  has 
proved  the  great  school  of  mind.  Here  dwell,  and  for  wise 
reasons  here  God  intended  should  dwell,  the  great  majority  of 
mankind. 

The  country  sends  far  more  than  its  proportion  of  gifted  men 
to  the  great  centers  of  influence.  It  is  thus  continually  enriching 
the  cities,  for  towards  them  are  flowing,  like  their  streams,  the 
material  and  mental  treasures  which  have  their  origin  in  the 
mountain  springs,  and  without  which  the  cities  would  die  out. 
A  writer  in  one  of  our  popular  monthlies  disparages  farmers 
and  farming,  saying  :  '•  1  can  pick  out  the  farmer  and  farmer's 
boys  in  any  assemblage  by  their  manifest  boorishness  of  looks 
and  action.  Your  farmer's  boy  is  awkward  and  jagged,  like  the 
oak  growing  in  the  open  lot,  while  your  city  youth  is  trim  and 


21 

graceful  like  the  pine  in  the  forest."  After  reading  that  article,  I 
took  a  trip  to  Cape  Cod,  where  a  fearful  storm  had  just  swept  the 
coast  and  where  were  to  be  seen  many  a  pine  made  the  sport  of 
the  tempest,  but  never  an  oak  stirred  from  its  moorings.  So 
your  farmer's  boy,  trained  to  industry,  to  economy  of  time  as 
well  as  money,  will  breast  a  thousand  storms,  any  one  of  which 
would  upset  your  tenderly-reared  city  youth.  "  It  is  not  in  the 
great  cities,  nor  in  the  confined  shops  of  trade,  but  principally 
in  agriculture,  that  the  best  stock  or  staple  of  men  is  grown. 
It  is  in  the  open  air — in  communion  with  the  sky,  the  earth  and 
all  living  things — that  the  largest  inspiration  is  drunk  in  and 
the  vital  energies  of  a  real  man  constructed."  I  often  advise  the 
wealthy  in  our  cities  to  secure  Summer  homes  in  the  country, 
or  to  send  their  children,  for  at  least  one  entire  year,  to  the 
country,  with  its  freer  sports  and  wider  range  for  rambles,  and, 
better  still,  to  give  one  season  to  hard  work  on  the  farm  or  in 
the  shop.  The  practical  skill  thus  gained  in  adapting  means  to 
ends,  in  observing  common  objects  and  animals,  may  compen- 
sate for  some  loss  of  book  learning,  and  lead  one  afterward  to 
pursue  text-books  with  greater  zest. 

It  is  the  interest  of  the  farmers,  of  all  people  on  the  globe,  to 
co-operate  in  the  work  of  rural  improvement.  In  no  other 
way  can  you  farmers  so  surely  counteract  this  excessive  mania 
for  the  attractions  and  distractions  of  city  life.  We  need  to 
enforce  in  the  school,  as  well  as  in  the  family,  the  necessity  and 
dignity  of  labor,  and  its  vital  connection  with  all  human  growth 
and  progress  and  welfare.  The  theory  that  labor  is  menial, 
that  the  tools  of  the  farm  or  a  trade  are  badges  of  servility, 
ought  to  be  refuted  in  our  schools.  The  Hebrews,  acting  under 
divine  inspiration,  trained  up  their  youth  to  thoroughly  learn 
some  handicraft.  When  proclaiming  the  gospel  for  all  the 
world,  Paul  could,  if  need  be,  earn  his  livelihood  by  his 
trade;  and  his  associates  did  not  dream  that  they  were  demean- 
ing themselves  or  their  sacred  office  by  resuming  their  old 
business  of  fishing.  Why  was  it  that  the  Great  Teacher,  whose 
life  was  designed  to  be  the  perfect  standard  of  duty  to  all  men 
in  all  ages,  sought  out — yes,  sought  out — the  humble  cottage  of 
the  carpenter,  and  toiled  at  the  carpenter's  bench,  except  that 
He  might  reprobate  before  the  eyes  of  the  world  this  heathenish 


22 

notion  that  labor  is  servile  ?  It  will  do  for  the  Chinese  mandarin , 
who  lets  his  nails  grow  longer  than  his  fingers,  to  prove  that  he 
does  not  work  because  he  cannot.  I  say  more  should  be  done 
to  dignify  farm  work ;  and  how  can  the  farmer  do  this  better 
than  by  interesting  his  boys  and  girls  in  the  adornment  of  the 
home  and  the  village? 

While  I  feel  a  grateful  pride  in  the  fact  that  something  in  the 
line  of  rural  adornment  has  lately  been  accomplished  in  all  the 
towns  of  Connecticut,  especially  around  the  homes  and  grounds 
of  our  citizens,  I  do  not  mean  to  slacken  my  efforts  till  an  effi- 
cient association  is  formed  in  every  township.  Though  this  is 
no  part  of  my  prescribed  duties,  but  only  a  volunteer  avocation 
in  addition  to  my  proper  vocation,  my  interest  in  the  work 
grows  with  years  and  results.  It  is  my  ambition  to  do  my 
utmost  to  improve  the  homes  and  home  life  of  our  people,  and 
help  them  to  realize  that  the  highest  privilege  and  central  duty 
of  life  is  the  creation  of  happy  homes.  The  multiplied  minis- 
tries of  nature,  providence  and  religion,  center  in  the  main- 
tenance of  happy  homes.  The  higher  aim  of  the  industries  of 
life,  whether  agricultural,  manufacturing  or  commercial,  and 
the  great  end  for  which  government  itself  is  worthy  to  be  sus- 
tained, is,  that  men  may  live  in  happy  homes.  "  The  hope  of 
America  is  the  homes  of  America."  You  improve  the  schools 
by  improving  the  homes,  as  truly  as  you  improve  the  homes  by 
improving  the  schools. 

It  was  a  very  fit  thing  that,  in  opening  .this  meeting,  wre 
should  unite  in  a  prayer  of  thanksgiving  to  God  for  our  happy 
homes,  and  a  fit  thing  to  pray,  as  we  did  most  fervently  and 
heartily,  that  we  might  co-operate  in  the  embellishment  of  our 
homes ;  and  let  me  commend  to  you,  my  friends,  the  spirit  of 
that  very  appropriate  prayer.  The  hope  of  Ewing  is  the 
homes  of  Ewing,  and  when  every  citizen  is  induced  to  look 
out  for  his  own  frontage,  and  his  own  grounds,  this  result  is,  in 
the  highest  degree,  secured. 

It  is  a  grand  fact  that  modern  civilization  relates  to  the 
homes  of  the  people,  especially  to  their  health,  thrift,  comfort, 
and  their  intellectual  and  moral  advancement.  In  former 
times,  and  other  lands,  men  were  counted  only  in  the  aggregate, 
and  valued  only  as  they  helped  to  swell  the  revenues  and 


23 

retinues  of  kings  and  nobles.  The  government  was  the  unit? 
and  each  individual  only  added  one  to  the  roll  of  serfs  or 
soldiers,  but  with  us  the  individual  is  the  unit,  and  the  govern- 
ment is  of  the  people,  for  the  people,  and  by  the  people.  Every 
influence  should,  therefore,  be  employed  with  us  to  foster  home 
attachments.  On  Cape  Cod,  the  other  day,  I  met  a  widow,  who 
said  to  me :  "  I  have  not  heard  from  my  boy  for  twelve 
months,  but  I  know  he  hain't  spoke  ship,"  and  she  pointed  to 
the  flowers  and  shrubs  that  her  boy  had  helped  to  plant;  and 
I  knew  he  had  not  spoken  a  ship,  for  a  boy  of  that  kind  would 
not  let  an  opportunity  pass,  wherever  he  might  be,  to  cheer  her 
with  tidings  of  his  safety.  Said  a  man  thirty-five  years  presi- 
dent of  a  New  England  college :  "  I  never  knew  a  boy  go  far 
astray  who  devotedly  cherished  his  mother  and  truly  reverenced 
his  father." 

Now,  fathers  and  mothers,  i£  you  want  to  improve  your  boys, 
and  make  them  reverence  you,  keep  your  homesteads  clean, 
and  teach  the  children  to  cultivate  a  love  for  flowers.  I  think 
we  have  an  instance  in  point  in  that  wonderful  people,  the  Jap- 
anese. There  are  no  people  on  the  earth  who  love  flowers  as 
they  do ;  no  people  who  cultivate  them  so  universally.  Every 
one  must  have  flowers  in  his  front  yard — must,  not  by  imperial 
edict,  but  by  what  is  better,  universal  public  sentiment.  If, 
possibly,  the  local  conditions  in  a  narrow  street  do  not  permit 
a  plat  of  flowers,  they  will  then  have  potted  flowers,  and  the 
arrangements  in  the  rear  for  flowers  are  ample.  Was  it  not  a 
striking  fact,  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition,  that  the  only  foreign 
bazaar  adorned  with  native  flowers  and  shrubs  was  the  Jap- 
anese? and,  however  the  commissioners  mourned  that  they  had 
suffered  greatly  by  the  long  passage,  they  were  exquisitely 
beautiful,  as  you  well  remember.  My  home  has  been  fragrant, 
much  of  the  time  the  last  few  years,  with  bouquets  sent  by 
Japanese  students,  which  is  their  way  of  expressing  gratitude 
for  some  little  favor  given.  Then,  again,  the  love  of  flowers  is 
largely,  in  my  mind,  the  secret  of  the  wonderful  politeness  of 
the  Japanese.  No  people  on  the  face  of  this  globe,  in  the 
family  or  in  the  school,  so  thoroughly  teach  the  ethics  and 
aesthetics  of  etiquette  as  do  the  Japanese.  The  French  are  also 
one  of  the  politest  peoples  in  the  world,  and  the  love  of  flowers 
is  one  of  their  characteristics. 


24 

I  have  been  requested  to  say  a  word  as  to  what  trees  to  plant. 
Your  printed  programme  specifies  a  list  of  trees.  I  would  like 
to  add  one  or  two,  while  admitting  the  excellence  of  those 
named.  I  would  add  the  linden,  a  magnificent  tree  and  very 
hardy,  and  the  common  hemlock.  Another  noble  tree  which 
you  have  sought  to  grow  is  the  tulip,  and  you  have  failed 
because  you  planted  it  too  large.  It  has  a  deep  root,  and 
should  be  taken  from  the  nursery  young.  It  is  a  great  mistake 
to  think  you  are  going  to  gain  by  planting  big  trees.  If  you 
plant  them  large,  you  must  crop  them,  and  a  tree  never  recovers 
thoroughly  from  the  beheading  process.  There  will  grow  up, 
perhaps,  two  limbs  and  spread  out,  and  then,  in  a  tempest,  the 
tree  splits,  and  never  develops  its  full  beauty.  I  want  to  urge, 
also,  as  a  very  beautiful  tree,  which  you  will  find  growing  across 
the  river  in  Pennsylvania,  at  various  points,  the  hickory  and 
the  black  walnut.  They  both  need  to  be  planted  young,  and 
with  care,  the  hickory  especially.  Let  me  drop  a  word  of 
caution — not  to  plant  big  trees  in  little  yards.  While  I  advo- 
cate tree  planting  most  thoroughly,  I  want  to  reiterate  the  old 
motto :  "  Where  the  sunlight  cannot  come,  the  doctor  must"  Don't 
let  the  old  Norway  spruce  stand  so  near  as  to  shut  out  all 
sunlight.  Your  list  of  trees,  recommended  for  the  roadside,  justly 
includes  the  elm,  which  unites  the  two  elements  of  grace  and 
grandeur  more  than  any  other  tree.  Michaux  calls  it  "  the 
most  magnificent  vegetable  of  the  temperate  zone."  No  doubt 
its  roots  extend  further  into  the  adjoining  fields  than  those  of 
any  other  tree.  On  this  account  the  hickory,  white  ash,  Norway 
maple,  mountain  ash,  and  especially  the  tulip,  with  its  straight 
stem,  that  may  be  trimmed  high,  if  need  be,  should  be  favorites 
with  the  farmers,  for  the  road-side.  The  tulip  is  a  rapid 
grower,  and  attains  large  size,  and  is  unsurpassed  in  the  beauty 
of  its  form  and  foliage. 

Of  all  exotics,  I  recommend  the  European  larch.  You  can 
get  it  from  Douglas  &  Sons,  at  Waukegan,  Illinois,  for  $8  or  $9  a 
thousand.  It  is  very  hardy,  has  a  perfect  root,  and  probably 
990  out  of  every  1,000  will  live.  They  come  in  perfect  condi- 
tion. The  tree  unites  three  characteristics — rapidity  of  growth, 
symmetry  of  form,  and  durability  of  the  timber.  We  are  plant- 
ing it,  in  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  for  economical  pur- 


25 

poses,  as  well  as  for  adornment,  I  find  there  is  no  need  here 
of  reclaiming  barren  lands,  as  in  a  town  so  fertile  you  have  no 
sand  banks.  Further  South,  I  should  have  dropped  a  hint 
about  reclaiming  sand  barrens  by  planting  the  trees  appropriate 
for  that  purpose.  The  larch  is  the  great  timber  tree,  as  well  as 
ornamental  tree,  at  the  present  time  in  Europe. 

But  I  notice  that  I  have  overrun  my  time,  and,  therefore,  I 
stop  abruptly ;  for  I  would  not  deprive  you  of  the  privilege  and 
pleasure  you  have  of  learning  the  results  of  the  sanitary  survey 
of  this  place,  made  by  so  competent  a  gentleman  as  Col.  Waring. 
May  I  congratulate  you  on  your  good  fortune  in  securing  such 
a  survey.  If  any  one  has  doubted  the  wisdom  of  it  hitherto,  I 
think  ten  years  hence  he  will  be  thankful  to  this  Association 
for  this  step.  I  have  been  surprised  again  and  again,  in  going 
into  our  country  towns,  to  find  in  the  homes  of  men  who 
thought  they  had  everything  in  perfection,  that  the  sanitary 
conditions  were  imperfect  and  bad ;  that  the  waste-pipe  from 
the  kitchen  sink,  for  instance,  emptied  into  a  cesspool  within 
six  or  eight  feet  of  the  well,  and  from  it  conduits  formed  in  the 
course  of  years,  so  that  the  water  was  contaminated ;  and  the 
most  frightful  diseases  have,  within  my  knowledge,  come  from 
drinking  water  rendered  impure  by  the  sink  cesspools,  which 
people  think  little  of  as  injuring  the  health  of  the  home.  But 
I  stop  abruptly. 

The  President  then  introduced  Col.  George  E.  Waring,  Jr.,  of 
Newport,  R.  I. 

Address  of  Col.  George  B.  Waring. 

MR.  PRESIDENT,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  : — I  find  myself  labor- 
ing under  a  very  unaccustomed  embarrassment  in  appearing 
before  you  to-day.  It  is  my  misfortune  to  have  been  compelled 
to  practice  the  gloomy  profession  of  a  Sanitary  Engineer.  I  am 
seldom  called  to  perform  any  service  except  where  my  labors 
are  sorely  needed.  If  I  am  sent  for  to  visit  a  house,  it  is  more 
than  likely  that  the  undertaker  has  been  there  before  me.  When 
I  received  the  letter  of  your  enthusiastic  Mr.  Fisk,  inviting 
me  to  make  a  sanitary  survey  of  West  Ewing,  my  first  thought 
was:  "One  more  unfortunate!"  I  fully  anticipated,  judging 
from  my  previous  experiences,  finding  matters  so  very  serious 


26 

here,  and,  perhaps,  life  grown  so  uncertain,  that  something 
would  have  to  be  done  immediately,  at  least  to  maintain  the 
price  of  your  lands.  I  accordingly  sent  my  assistant  here  to 
ferret  out  the  sources  of  evil  in  all  your  houses,  and  I  came  yes- 
terday myself  to  drive  through  your  pestilential  marshes,  and 
to  investigate  your  filthy  drains.  I  find,  quite  to  my  surprise, 
that  you  have  sent  for  the  wrong  man.  It  is  no  such  place. 
In  more  than  one  respect  this  is  fortunate,  because  the  hour  is 
getting  late,  and  I  shall  say  very  little,  for  the  reason  that  I 
have  very  little  to  say. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  in  what  Mr.  Northrop  has  said,  and  in 
some  things  that  I  may  say,  there  may  be  the  suggestion  of  an 
inquiry  concerning  sanitary  matters,  which  may  lead  you  to 
desire  further  information  on  that  subject.  If  so,  I  shall  be  glad 
to  answer  any  inquiries  you  may  make,  and  to  enlighten  )7ou, 
if  I  can,  on  certain  points.  I  beg  you  to  disregard  one  require- 
ment of  the  programme,  which  is  that  you  shall  put  your  ques- 
tions in  writing.  I  think  it  altogether  unfair  that  you  should 
be  restricted  in  your  method  of  inquiry,  while  I  shall  enjoy 
the  more  rapid  one  of  answering  your  questions  directly. 

I  say,  frankly,  after  looking  over  so  much  of  your  town  as  is 
embraced  in  the  province  of  your  Association,  that  I  have  found 
only  one  serious  source  of  trouble.  A  more  beautiful  and 
generally  healthy  looking  section  of  country  than  this  which 
surrounds  your  church  here,  I  have  rarely  seen.  There  are 
certain  bays  at  the  side  of  the  canal  and  some  of  the  ditches 
running  north  and  south  between  the  canal  and  the  river,  that 
might  be  improved,  although  none  of  them  are  so  serious  as  to 
require  much  professional  advice.  The  saw-mill  pond,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  in  every  respect  as  bad  as  it  could  be.  It  would 
take  too  long  for  me  to  enter  into  a  discussion  regarding  the 
causes  of  malaria,  and  what  it  is,  at  least  according  to  our  imper- 
fect theories ;  but  any  one  who  has  investigated  the  condition 
of  malarious  regions  must  see  that  there  are,  toward  the  upper 
end  of  that  pond,  conditions  of  soil  such  as  may  be  surely 
depended  upon  to  produce  malaria,  if  they  occur  in  a  country 
where  malaria  exists  at  all.  From  what  I  see  of  the  sources  of 
supply  of  that  pond,  it  is  evident  that  when  the  mill  is  used  the 
water  must  be  drawn  down  very  rapidly,  and  a  considerable 


27 

area  of  wet  bank  must  be  left  exposed  to  the  sun  and  air  before 
the  water  again  rises  to  its  level.  This  is  one  of  the  most  serious 
features  of  the  problem.  I  state  the  case  thus  distinctly,  because, 
fortunately,  a  short  time  before  I  came  here,  Dr.  Lowrie  took  the 
pains  to  investigate  the  condition  of  the  whole  population  within 
the  immediate  neighborhood  of  that  pond.  If  I  remember  his 
figures  correctly,  he  examined  into  the  condition  of  the  occu- 
pants of  twenty-three  houses,  and  found  only  two  of  those  houses 
free  from  cases  of  chills  and  fever.  While  he  does  not  know  the 
total  of  population,  he  says  he  found  fifty-eight  cases  of  chills 
and  fever.  From  the  examination  that  my  assistant  has  made 
of  the  rest  of  the  territory,  I  should  say  there  were,  altogether, 
not  ten  cases  in  the  whole  remainder  of  the  district.  Now  the 
correction  of  this  difficulty  is  very  simple,  if  means  are  provided 
for  it;  but  it  is  absolutely  essential,  before  that  land  can  be 
drained  and  made  wholesome,  so  that  the  poor  people  who  live 
in  the  neighborhood  may  escape  their  chills  and  fever,  that  the 
dam  should  be  taken  down,  the  mill-right  extinguished,  and  that 
land  made  as  sound,  in  a  sanitary  sense,  as  that  lying  above  or 
below  it.  I  am  informed  that  there  are  legal  steps  which  may 
be  taken,  by  virtue  of  recent  action  of  the  Legislature,  by  the 
Town  Committee  as  a  Board  of  Health,  to  remedy  defects  of  this 
description ;  but  that  is,  of  course,  the  last  resort  among  neigh- 
bors, who  have  associated  themselves  together,  as  you  have, 
in  friendly  union ;  and  it  happens  to  be  a  case,  if  one  can  judge 
by  the  appearance  of  manufacturing  establishments,  where  the 
entire  value  of  the  mill-right  to  its  owner  might  be  contributed 
by  the  members  of  the  Association,  or  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town,  and  thus  the  problem  solved  by  other  than  extreme  legal 
measures. 

This,  as  I  have  said,  is  the  only  thing  I  have  seen  in  the  whole 
district  covered  by  this  Association,  that  is  worthy  of  serious 
comment.  We  have  examined  between  forty  and  fifty  houses, 
and  have  found  in  no  one  of  them  gross  defects  such  as  we  too 
often  find  in  cities,  and  which  are  so  marked  in  their  unhealthy 
influence,  and  so  much  written  about  in  the  newspapers.  But 
it  is  to  be  remembered  that,  if  the  defects  of  the  country  are 
not  so  gross  as  those  of  the  city,  they  are  sometimes  more  subtle- 
The  sanitary  rule  has  never  been  better  formulated  than  it  was 


28 

by  Hippocrates  when  he  prescribed  "  Pure  Air,  Pure  Water,  and 
a  Pure  Soil."  I  think,  if  you  look  about  your  houses,  even  here, 
you  will  find  that  you  do  not,  in  all  cases,  live  quite  up  to  the 
requirements  of  this  prescription.  We  have,  all  of  us,  more  or 
less,  inherited  certain  habits  of  life  from  our  ancestors,  who,  if 
they  lived  healthily,  did  so  rather  through  good  luck  than  by 
good  management,  and  who  developed  some  habits  which  it 
would  be  well  for  their  descendants  to  forget.  They  had  also  some 
advantages  which  the  weather-strip  man,  and  the  carpenter,  and 
the  stove-maker  have  taken  away  from  us.  In  the  old  houses, 
however  impure  the  water  and  soil  may  have  been,  there  was 
abundant  opportunity,  with  the  help  of  the  open  fire-places  and 
the  broad  cracks,  to  obtain  fresh  air. 

I  find  that  in  every  house  here,  but  no  more  than  elsewhere, 
there  is  a  disregard  of  the  more  simple  requirements  concerning 
pure  air,  pure  water,  and  pure  soil.  For  example,  your  house- 
holders are  very  largely  chargeable  with  ignorance  of,  or  indiffer- 
ance  to,  the  maxim  that  Mr.  Northrop  aptly  quoted,  "  Where  the 
sunlight  cannot  come,  the  doctor  must."  Your  trees  seem  to 
me  to  be  too  large,  too  near  to  the  houses,  and  too  close  together, 
and  I  sometimes  wondered,  as  I  was  passing  along,  whether 
there  does  not  run  in  your  veins  a  strong  infusion  of  the  old 
New  York  Dutch  blood,  which  leads  to  the  closing  of  all  your 
front  shutters  from  Saturday  until  Saturday.  At  all  events,  if  the 
population  are  still  in  their  own  homes,  they  are  certainly  living  with 
less  direct,  pure  sunlight  than  they  need  and  might  have  by  a  proper 
opening  of  their  windows  and  shutters. 

The  cellars  of  your  houses  we  have  found  to  be  generally  in 
good  condition,  but,  from  their  construction,  and  from  the  char- 
acter of  their  windows  and  the  uses  to  which  they  are  put,  the 
idea  seems  to  suggest  itself  that  they  are  not  in  such  good  condi- 
tion in  Winter  time.  Your  cellars  are  used,  to  a  considerable 
extent,  for  storing  vegetables,  and  I  imagine  that  in  the  Winter 
time  they  are  a  good  deal  like  farm-houses  in  other  States,  tightly 
closed,  pretty  musty,  not  always  absolutely  dry,  and  generally 
separated  from  the  living  rooms  by  only  the  board  floor,  with 
no  plastering  or  ceiling  underneath. 

One  habit  prevails  here,  more,  I  will  say,  than  in  New  England, 
and  that  is  the  making  use  of  the  back  yard  as  a  kitchen  sink. 


29 

Now,  if  this  is  done  consistently,  and  faithfully,  and  intelli- 
gently, it  is  a  very  good  thing.  If  the  house-maid  will  take 
pains,  each  time,  to  flirt  her  water  on  a  new  place,  so  as  to  let 
the  old  place  dry,  under  the  action  of  the  sun  and  air,  it  is 
certainly  as  wholesome  (though  not  as  tidy)  a  way  of  getting 
rid  of  kitchen  water  as  can  be  devised;  but  this  care  is  very 
seldom  taken,  and  in  many  places  we  have  noticed  that  the 
water  is  cast  on  the  same  place,  and  that  the  land  is  foul,  often 
very  foul,  and  leading  to  the  greater  or  less  tainting  of  the  well, 
according  to  its  nearness.  /  should  say,  that  in  so  far  as  your 
circumstances  are  suspicious,  you  have  decidedly  to  look  to  your  wells. 
We  have  seen  a  good  many  that  are  more  than  suspicious.  I  would 
venture  to  say,  without  having  made  a  chemical  analysis  of  the  water, 
or  a  microscopical  examination  of  its  contents,  that  it  must,  in  many 
cases,  be  impure,  unsafe,  and  only  to  be  used  with  risk.  There  is  one 
house,  for  example,  in  this  town,  where  the  well  is  in  the  cellar, 
and  where,  outside  of  it,  only  thirty  feet  away,  there  is  a  vault, 
eight  feet  deep,  full  pretty  nearly  to  the  top,  and  located  in 
soil  which  I  believe  would  transmit  impurities  for  a  consider- 
ably greater  distance  than  thirty  feet.  That  is  the  most  extreme 
case  that  we  have  found,  although  we  have  seen  a  good  many 
others  where  the  distance  is  far  within  the  danger  line.  Now,  it 
is  quite  true  that  you  and  your  ancestors  have  lived  (those  who 
have  lived)  under  these  conditions,  and  have,  nevertheless,  had  a 
lower  death  rate  than  many  other  places,  not  so  favorably  situ- 
ated as  regards  soil  and  exposure. — 

At  this  point  the  speaker  was  interrupted  by  the  following 
question  from  one  of  his  audience : 

Q.  Please  define  what  passes  beyond  the  danger  line  between 
the  vault  and  the  well? 

To  which  the  speaker  replied : 

That  depends  entirely  upon  the  means  of  communication 
between  them — whether  the  soil  is  composed  of  clay,  of  gravel,  or 
of  rock,  with  seams  running  from  one  to  the  other.  It  can  only  be 
determined  by  using  some  test,  such,  for  instance,  as  to  put  salt 
water  in  the  vault  and  to  examine  for  salt  in  the  well ;  but  I 
should  say  that  there  certainly  ought  to  be  an  interval  of  more 


30 

than  a  hundred  feet  in  such  soil  as  this.  It  is  natural  for  you 
to  think  that  the  idea  that  there  is  danger  in  such  a  case  is  all 
nonsense,  and  mere  theory  and  "book-farming,"  for  you  have 
drunk  water  out  of  that  well;  and  you  know  there  isn't  a  better 
well  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey ;  your  grandfather  said  there 
wasn't  a  better  well  anywhere  round  about.  Now,  such  wells  — 
wells  held  in  just  as  high  estimation — have,  unfortunately,  done 
great  mischief  in  the  world.  One  of  the  greatest  outbreaks  of 
cholera  in  London  was  traced  entirely  to  the  impurity  of  a  pub- 
lic well.  The  degree  of  danger  is  very  well  illustrated  by  a 
remark  made  by  Mr.  Clark,  Engineer  of  the  Improve  Sewerage 
of  Boston,  who  said :  "  The  risk  is  very  slight,  but  it  is  a  risk 
of  a  terrible  danger."  I  have  recently  been  reading  the  report  of 
the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Health,  which  has  just  appeared, 
and  in  which  there  is  an  article  on  typhoid  fever,  by  a  physician 
of  Massachusetts,  where  again  and  again  there  came,  from  the 
immediate  tainting  of  a  farm-house  well,  an  outbreak  of  the 
fever,  taking  down  nearly  every  person  in  the  house,  and  result- 
ing in  one  or  two  or  three  deaths  in  each  case.  The  wells  had 
been  in  as  good  condition  as  yours,  but  the  moment  came 
when  they  were  in  a  state  to  receive  and  multiply  the  infection, 
and  every  man  drinking  the  water  fell  more  or  less  under  the 
influence  of  the  disease. 

Our  examination  shows,  in  a  few  cases,  that  there  are  furnaces 
in  the  cellars  of  the  houses  for  heating  your  rooms,  which  take 
their  cold  air  from  the  cellar.  It  ought  not. to  be  necessary  to 
go  into  any  long  argument  to  prove  that  a  cellar,  used  as  the 
cellar  of  any  ordinary  country-house  is,  for  the  storage  of  pro- 
visions, which  has  very  little  circulation  of  air,  which  is  full 
of  dust  and  impurities,  which  is  more  or  less  the  home  of  rats 
and  mice  and  cats  and  dogs,  does  not  contain  exactly  the  sort 
of  atmosphere  that  you  want  to  warm  and  bring  into  your  living 
rooms  for  your  children  to  breathe  during  the  Winter.  I  think 
any  one  who  has  had  the  experience  of  such  cases,  or  who  has 
investigated  the  effect  of  furnace-heated  houses  upon  the  health 
of  families,  will  agree  that  the  fresh  air  should  always  be  taken 
entirely  from  the  outside  of  the  house.  It  is  better  still,  that  it 
should  not  be  taken  from  near  the  surface  of  the  ground,  the 
pipe  being  turned  up  a  few  feet  to  take  in  a  purer  air.  We 


31 

have  found  two,  and  I  think  three,  cases  where  drains  leading 
from  the  kitchen,  emptied  into  the  ground.  In  one  case,  where 
there  were  the  ordinary  plumbing  arrangements,  the  waste  of 
the  whole  house  passed  out  through  such  a  drain.  We  found 
such  cases  where  the  drains  passed  within  a  very  few  feet  of  the 
wells,  being  carried  by  vitrified  pipe,  with  cemented  joints,  and 
supposed  to  be  safe  on  that  account.  Now,  if  the  vitrified  pipe 
is  sound,  which  it  generally  is,  and  has  good  joints,  which  it 
generally  has  not,  it  is  safe  enough.  It  has  been  a  part  of  my 
work,  for  many  years,  to  lay  these  pipes  with  cement  joints, 
and  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  one  great  difficulty 
in  draining  is,  to  make  a  tight  joint  where  you  are  cementing  two 
pipes  together.  I  have  almost  given  it  up  in  despair.  There  were 
pipes  taken  up  at  Memphis  the  other  day,  which  I  had  sup- 
posed were  absolutely  perfect,  but  my  assistant  informed  me 
that  there  was  a  little  stream  of  water  running  through  in  every 
case.  It  was  very  slight,  but  if  it  was  passing  along  through  the 
ground  near  a  well,  the  constant  dropping  into  the  soil,  not 
enough  perhaps,  to  go  into  the  well  in  a  stream,  but  saturating 
the  soil  around  it,  so  that  when  there  is  a  heavy  down-pour  of 
rain  it  might  be  washed  in,  it  would  constitute  a  dangerous  con- 
dition. The  best  remedy  is,  of  course,  to  lay  the  pipe  to  some 
distance  beyond  the  well,  of  iron  with  leaded  joints ;  but  where 
the  drain  already  exists,  it  is  a  very  easy  matter  to  surround 
it  entirely  by  a  coating  of  cement  concrete  that  will  make  it 
practically  tight.  Wherever  a  drain  must  pass  near  a  well,  I 
strongly  advise  that  course  of  treatment. 

I  find  another  memorandum  of  a  house  where  the  vault  is 
fifteen  feet  away  from  the  well,  is  eight  feet  deep,  and  is  not 
emptied  until  nearly  full;  the  well  itself  being  twenty-three  feet 
deep.  That  case,  I  think,  is  very  serious.  In  any  community  of 
farmers  it  would,  perhaps,  hardly  do  for  a  local  committee,  even 
if  they  were  so  disposed,  to  treat  the  hog-pen  question  as  it  is 
treated  in  cities.  We  all  know  that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
economical  farming  and  country  house-keeping  to  keep  a  pig, 
but  it  is  really  not  absolutely  necessary  to  keep  pigs  quite  in  the 
condition  in  which  some  few  are  kept  in  this  town.  I  do  not 
believe  the  pig  is  naturally  a  nasty  animal.  I  don't  think  he  is 
particularly  fond  of  wallowing  in  dirty  water  if  he  has  any  other 


32 

way  of  cooling  himself.  I  have  seen  swine  kept  in  a  different 
way,  and  I  would  modestly  commend  to  the  farmers  and  house- 
keepers of  this  town  the  suggestion  that  they  learn  how  pigs  may 
be  kept  in  such  a  manner  that  their  presence  will  not  be  noticed 
from  the  house  or  from  the  road. 

Now,  I  believe  I  have  stated  the  chief  faults  I  have  been  able 
to  find  in  an  examination  of  nearly  every  house  within  this 
district;  and,  as  you  see,  I  have  almost  got  a  harvest  of  nothing, 
with  the  exception  of  the  malarious  condition  about  the  mill- 
pond,  due,  I  believe,  entirely  to  the  presence  of  that  pond. 
With  that  exception,  there  is  nothing  here  that  is  really  a  justi- 
fication of  my  presence  in  West  Ewing. 

I  shall  now  be  very  glad,  if  any  members  of  my  audience 
choose  to  ask  questions  on  any  sanitary  subjects,  to  answer  them 
to  the  best  of  my  ability. 

Mr.  Edward  Fisk. — I  believe  the  Secretary  has  a  letter  from 
Prof.  Schanck,  of  Princeton,  stating  a  number  of  questions, 
which  are  quite  comprehensive. 

Col.  Waring. — I  will  read  the  letter : 

LENOX,  MASS.,  Aug.  25th,  1880. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  : — I  have  not  forgotten  your  request,  and  only 
regret  that  I  cannot  be  present  and  contribute  questions  sug- 
gested by  the  occasion  and  circumstances.  I  should  seek  infor- 
mation upon  arrangement  of  grounds,  shrubbery,  fences,  &c., 
and  upon  water-closet  sewerage  and  cesspool,  &c.  Thus : 

1.  What  mixture  of  grass  seed  is  best  for  lawns  ? 

2.  How  often  should  they  be  mown  ? 

3.  Are  door-yard  fences  needful  in  a  village  ? 

4.  Which  is  the  best  village  hedge  material — Arbor  Vitas, 
Hemlock,  &c? 

5.  For  a  village  without  public  sewers,  which  is  to  be  pre- 
ferred, outside  privies,  or  inside  earth  closets  or  water  closets  ? 

6.  If  the  latter,  how  can  the  efflux  be  safely  disposed  of? 

7.  If  a  cesspool  is  uncemented,  will  it  not  in  time  poison  the 
wells? 

8.  If  cemented,  will  it  not  fill  every  few  weeks  or  months,  and 
be  a  constant  nuisance  ? 

9.  How  should  it  be  trapped  and  ventilated  ? 


33 

10.  What  should  be  done  with  kitchen  slops? 

11.  Is  the  Lenox  sewerage  system  applicable  to  single  country 
houses? 

12.  In  this  case,  what  length  of  two-inch  distributing  pipe 
suffices  for  each  person  ? 

13.  May  this  not  freeze  up  in  Winter  so  as  to  check  distribu- 
tion? 

14.  Typhoid  fever  and  kindred  diseases  are  often  clearly 
referable  to  human  excrement,  especially  when  moist  and  damp. 
Is  the  poison  introduced  through  water  by  stomach,  or  through 
air  by  lungs  ? 

15.  What  disinfectant  is  the  best  for  ordinary  family  use  ? 

16.  Relative  merits  in  this  respect  of  air  and  light,  of  chlorine, 
of  carbolic  acid  and  of  sulphate  of  iron,  also  of  dry  clay. 

These  are  hints  and  suggestions  only,  from  which  you  can 
frame  questions  and  call  out  information. 
Yours  very  truly, 

J.  S.  SCHANCK. 

Col.  Waring  (quoting  from  letter.) — "  What  mixture  of  grass 
seed  is  best  for  lawns?"  [See  Notes.] 

I  would  respectfully  call  on  my  associate. 

Mr.  Northrop. — You  are  familiar  with  it. 

Col.  Waring. — Not  as  familiar  as  you  are.  We  use  Rhode 
Island  bent  grass  and  white  clover,  introducing  a  little  blue 
grass  seed.  I  think  our  best  lawns  have  much  white  clover. 

(Reading  again  from  Prof.  Schanck's  letter.) — "How  often 
should  they  be  mown?" 

My  answer  to  that  would  be,  as  often  as  possible. 

(Reading  again) — "  Are  door-yard  fences  needful  in  a  village?" 

Mr.  Northrop. — No. 

Col.  Waring. — Are  they  desirable? 

Mr.  Northrop. — If  you  can  bring  the  community  to  agree,  I 
think  they  are  undesirable.  Nothing  is  more  beautiful  in  a 
large  village,  than  the  absence  of  fences,  and  in  a  farming  com- 
munity like  this,  where  you  have  the  matter  entirely  under  con- 
trol, it  seems  to  me  to  promote  a  sentiment  of  sociality  to  have 
the  fences  taken  away.  At  Williamstown,  Mass.,  and  that 
model^  manufacturing  village,  Cheney  ville,  at  South  Manches- 
3 


34 

ter,  Conn.,  and  the  St.  Johnsbury  factory,  in  Vermont,  and  in 
places  where  the  grounds  are  thrown  together,  it  adds  very 
much  to  the  general  satisfaction. 

Col.  Waring. — Which  is  the  best  village  hedge  material? 

Mr.  Northrop. — That  depends  altogether  upon  the  climate. 
You  cannot  give  any  general  direction.  There  are  some  places 
where  the  osage  orange  will  not  grow.  It  grows  here,  and  very 
beautifully,  if  properly  cut.  [See  Notes.] 

Col.  Waring  (reading  from  the  letter.) — "  For  a  village  without 
public  sewers,  which  is  to  be  preferred,  outside  or  inside  earth 
closets,  or  water  closets?" 

I  should  say,  where  there  is  land  enough  about  the  house 
to  dispose  of  liquid  waste,  and  where  there  is  water  that  can 
be  pumped  to  a  supply  cistern  in  the  house,  that  a  water  closet 
is  much  more  cleanly  and  certain  of  being  in  good  order  with- 
out extra  care,  and,  therefore,  to  be  preferred.  The  earth  closet 
is  a  possible  remedy  for  all  evils ;  but  an  in-door  closet  requires, 
on  the  part  of  every  person  using  it,  the  most  constant  watch- 
fulness and  care,  or  it  becomes  offensive.  I  had  to  do  with 
the  introduction  of  that  improvement  in  this  country,  and  was 
its  strongest  advocate  for  a  very  long  time.  I  have  no  other 
conveniences  in  my  own  house,  but  I  have  come  slowly  to  the 
belief  that  it  is,  after  all,  but  a  stepping-stone  between  the  old- 
fashioned  arrangement  and  the  well-constructed  and  well- 
arranged  water  closet. 

Question  by  one  of  the  audience : 

Dr.  Lowrie. — What  is  the  least  distance  from  the  house  that 
kitchen  and  other  drainage  may  properly  be  disposed  of? 

Col.  Waring. — I  will  read  Prof.  Schanck's  question  on  the  same 
subject,  in  conjunction  with  this:  "How  can  the  efflux  be 
safely  disposed  of?" 

If  these  matters  are  to  be  disposed  of  by  discharging  them 
into  cesspools,  I  should  want  to  put  the  cesspool  to  the  far- 
thest possible  distance — the  back  field  of  the  farm  rather  than 
nearer,  for  the  reason  that  however  well  made,  and  however 
tightly  secured  against  escape  into  drinking-water  wells,  it  is 
really  a  vast  retort  filled  with  foul  matter  and  dangerous  gases, 
which  too  often  find  no  other  means  of  escape  than  through  the 


35 

drain  to  the  house.  I  believe  it  would  be  really  much  better,  as 
a  question  of  health,  if  the  drainage  from  the  house  was  deliv- 
ered directly  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground  within  twenty  feet 
of  its  back  door,  bad  as  this  would  be,  than  to  have  a  cesspool  at 
that  point.  It  would  not  look  so  well,  but  I  think  it  would  be 
less  dangerous.  Fortunately,  it  is  not  necessary  that  either  one 
of  these  evils  should  be  chosen.  A  system  applicable  to  every- 


PURE(?)  WELL  WATER,  DEFILED  BY  DRAINAGE  FROM  THE  KITCHEN 

SINK  AND  THE  CESSPOOL. 
(Prom  "The  Sanitary  Engineer.") 


36 

thing  of  a  liquid  character,  growing  out  of  an  invention  made 
by  the  inventor  of  an  earth  closet  in  1868,  and  since  developed 
by  a  long  experience  in  England  and  this  country,  seems  to 
offer  everything  that  one  may  desire,  if  there  is  a  little  land 
around  the  house.  Dr.  Lowrie  asks  within  what  distance  the 
disposal  may  take  place/  I  say,  always  get  as  far  away  as  you 
conveniently  can.  All  the  liquid  waste  of  my  own  house  is 
disposed  of  on  a  tract  of  land  the  first  edge  of  which  is  about 
fifteen  feet  from  my  piazza,  where  we  spend  the  Summer.  If  I 
had  more  land,  I  should  go  farther  away ;  but  with  no  more  land 
at  my  disposal  I  should  not  hesitate  to  repeat  the  same  experi- 
ment. This  system  is  in  use  now  in  a  large  number  of  houses  in 
New  England  and  New  Jersey,  particularly  in  Orange  and  in 
the  village  of  Lenox,  from  which  Prof.  Schanck  writes,  and  still 
more  extensively  at  the  Women's  prison,  at  Sherborn,  Mass., 
where  there  is  a  very  large  consumption  of  water.  Its  principle 
is  this:  That  if  foul  matters  are  absorbed  by  the  surface  soil 
within  reach  of  the  roots  of  vegetation,  and  within  reach  of  the 
atmosphere,  the  oxygen  of  which  exists  in  that  soil  in  a  state  of 
condensation,  they  will  be  acted  upon  immediately,  and  will  be 
in  a  short  time  completely  destroyed ;  so  that  if  the  interval  of  a 
day  be  left  between  one  wetting  and  another,  the  action  of  the 
roots  and  of  the  air  will  keep  the  soil  always  perfectly  clean. 
Suppose  we  have  a  drain  running  down  the  length  of  this  aisle, 
made  of  ordinary  drain  tiles,  and  loosely  laid  at  the  joints. 
You  attempt  to  run  fifty  gallons  of  sewage,  through  that,  and, 
if  the  soil  is  at  all  porous,  and  there  is  a  slight  leak  at  every 
joint,  by  the  time  it  gets  to  the  other  end  it  has  nearly  or  quite 
all  settled  into  the  ground.  Its  tendency  is  to  follow  the  laws 
of  gravitation  and  descend  in  the  ground,  the  soil  acting  as  a 
filter  and  holding  all  the  impurities  behind.  Immediately  there 
comes  the  fresh  air,  which  changes  its  character  or  entirely 
destroys  it  and  consumes  the  foul  matters  left  there.  Now,  if  it 
is  a  question  of  draining  a  single  house,  you  have  your  pipe  (we 
will  say  a  length  of  twenty-five  to  fifty  feet,  according  to  the 
character  of  the  soil  and  slope  of  the  ground,)  for  each  member 
of  the  household.  It  may  be  one  line,  or  a  number  of  lines 
branching  out  from  each  other,  according  to  the  character  of  the 
soil.  The  liquid  is  delivered  into  a  Field's  Flush  Tank.  When 


37 

that  becomes  full,  it  discharges  its  whole  contents  rapidly  into 
the  drain.  Your  tank  is  arranged  to  become  full  once  in  about 
two  days,  so  that  in  every  two  days  there  is  a  rush  of  water 
through  the  drain ;  its  foul  waters  sink  into  the  soil  well  filtered, 
and,  by  reason  of  the  cleansing  action  of  the  air  and  the  roots,  the 
soil  is  made  ready  to  receive  the  next  accession.  In  the  case 
of  a  village,  the  tank,  instead  of  holding  enough  for  a  family 
for  a  couple  of  days,  should  hold  enough  for  a  village  a  couple 
of  days.  In  Lenox,  the  tank  holds  three  thousand  gallons,  about, 
and  the  pipes  that  receive  its  discharge  are  about  ten  thousand 
feet  in  aggregate  length.  At  the  prison,  the  tanks  discharge 
fifteen  thousand  gallons  at  a  time,  and  they  discharge  alternately 
into  two  sets  of  drains  of  ten  thousand  feet  each;  but  always 
working  on  the  same  principle,  as  if  you  put  the  water  of  a  single 
house  into  a  single  straight  pipe,  from  which  it  leaks  out  into  the 
ground  of  a  door-yard. 

Now,  as  to  the  result,  I  can  only  say  that  I  have  never  heard 
of  any  suspicion  of  an  odor  from  the  surface  of  the  ground 
under  which  this  operation  is  taking  place.  I  have  never  heard 
of  a  case  of  sickness  being  ascribed  to  it.  I  have  dug  down 
close  to  the  joints  of  my  own  drains,  within  half  an  inch  of  a 
wide  opening  which  evidently  had  been  receiving  copious  dis- 
charges, and  it  was  impossible  to  tell,  by  smell  or  sight,  any 
difference  between  that  earth  and  earth  taken  ten  feet  away.  At 
the  prison,  in  Massachusetts,  our  disposal  is  into  artificial  drain- 
ing ground.  The  whole  tract  is  drained  five  feet  under  ground 
with  drains  twenty  feet  apart.  The  water  that  is  discharged 
there  from  the  purification  of  this  very  foul,  black  sewage  is 
simply  pure  water,  which  I  would  compare  with  the  well  water 
of  any  farm-house ;  at  any  rate,  any  village  well  water,  where 
villages  are  conducted  as  they  ordinarily  are.  By  chemical 
analysis  it  is  shown  to  have  a  little  more  organic  matter  than  it 
ought  to  have,  but  it  is  in  such  a  condition  that  it  is  impossible 
to  detect  it  by  anything  except  a  chemical  analysis.  It  is  per- 
fectly sweet  and  clear. 

Question. — What  you  stated  as  the  greatest  evil  in  this  town, 
in  a  sanitary  point  of  view,  was  the  existence  of  this  mill- 
dam.  I  would  like  to  inquire,  first,  whether  the  conditions  of 
mill-dams  generally  are  such  as  to  generate  this  miasma  or 


38 

malaria ;  and,  secondly,  whether  there  is  anything  special,  and 
what  it  is,  in  the  condition  of  this  mill-dam  which  generates  dis- 
ease ?  You  observed  that,  as  a  matter  of  course,  it  would  pro- 
duce these  malarious  effects. 

Col.  Waring. — There  is  no  disadvantage  in  having  a  mill-dam, 
as  a  mill-dam,  if  it  is  simply  a  reservoir  of  pure,  deep  water. 
If  it  has  steep  sides,  a  change  up  and  down  in  its  elevation  can 
do  very  little  harm ;  but  if,  as  in  this  case,  the  banks  are  in 
many  places  very  sloping,  and  the  land  is  saturated  with  water 
for  a  considerable  distance  back  from  its  edges,  and  if,  when  it 
is  drawn  down,  a  great  width  of  saturated  earth  is  exposed  to 
the  sun,  or  if  in  parts  it  is  so  shallow  that  the  sun's  heat  will 
have  an  effect  on  the  bottom,  then  the  existing  conditions  are 
considered  to  be  dangerous,  and  I  have  never  known  them  to 
exist  in  a  country  where  malaria  had  a  foothold  at  all,  without 
causing  or  increasing  it. 

Question. — If  there  are,  then,  pools  of  standing  water  which 
become  dried  up  by  drouth,  there  are  similar  tendencies  ? 

Col.  Waring. — During  the  time  it  is  passing  from  the  wet  to 
the  dry  condition.  After  the  ground  is  dried  to  a  considerable 
depth,  I  do  not  suppose  that  harm  continues ;  but  one  of  the 
greatest  factors  in  the  generation  of  malaria  is  the  alternate 
wetting  and  drying  of  land  that  is  subject  to  malarial  poison. 
Prof.  Schanck  asks : 

u  If  a  cesspool  is  uncemented,  will  it  not  in  time  poison 
wells?" 

It  certainly  will,  in  the  cases  of  wells  near  enough  to  it  to 
receive  its  contents  unpurified. 

"  If  cemented,  will  it  not  in  a  few  months  become  a  nuisance?'* 

Yes,  if  the  cement  is  tight.  I  imagine  that  many  cesspools 
get  rid  of  a  large  quantity  of  foul  water  through  the  imperfection 
of  their  work. 

"  How  should  it  be  trapped  and  ventilated  ?" 

I  think,  if  you  have  a  cesspool,  it  had  better  be  ventilated  as 
little  as  possible.  If  you  have  a  great  seething  mass,  and  give  it 
ventilation  anywhere  within  the  reach  of  grounds  where  you 
live,  there  will  be  great  offence  from  it.  I  have  tried  several 
times  to  ventilate  a  cesspool,  but  I  have  been  compelled  to  shut 
it  off  again.  I  should  rather  run  drain  pipes  off  through  the 


39 

ground,  so  that  if  there  were  any  pressure  of  air  it  would  work 
up  through  the  soil,  purified  in  its  passage. 

Question. — Would  you  ventilate  a  cesspool  by  a  chimney? 

Col.  Waring. — No.  Most  of  the  time,  if  you  have  a  strong 
upward  draft,  it  is  all  right ;  but  I  never  knew  a  house  with 
such  an  arrangement  that  did  not  at  some  time  have  an  offensive 
smell.  I  believe  in  ventilating  the  soil  pipe  most  thoroughly, 
but  not  in  making  it  a  vent  for  a  foul  cesspool.  I  always  run  a 
soil  pipe  through  the  roof  of  the  house,  and  am  very  careful  to 
place  it  much  lower  than  any  chimney  near  it. 

Question. — In  case  you  had  no  ventilation  to  the  cesspool, 
what  would  you  depend  upon  to  prevent  the  circulation  of  air 
to  the  house? 

Col.  Waring. — I  would  have  a  strong  trap  in  the  drain  leading 
to  the  cesspool ;  then  have  air  pipes  leading  from  the  cesspool 
out  into  the  soil,  so  that  pressure  would  be  relieved  that  way. 

Question. — What  do  you  think  of  running  a  ventilator 
directly  into  a  chimney  that  is  constantly  used  for  a  fire — a 
kitchen  chimney? 

Col.  Waring. — I  do  not  like  it.  The  fire  is  not  constantly 
burning.  It  is  not  burning  at  night,  and  I  don't  think  it  is 
trustworthy.  Of  course  it  is  better  than  running  into  any  other 
chimney. 

Question. — What  do  you  think  would  be  the  result  from  that 
— that  the  gas  might  go  through  from  the  chimney  to  the  house  ? 

Col.  Waring. — I  have  frequently  gone  through  houses  ventilated 
in  that  way,  which  had  been  unoccupied  for  two  or  three  days, 
and  the  stench  from  the  cesspool  was  all  through  the  house. 
Then,  frequently,  I  have  found  an  odor  in  an  upper  room 
through  which  the  chimney  passed,  which  I  could  trace  from 
no  other  source  than  the  movement  of  air  through  the  brick 
work. 

Question. — Suppose  you  run  the  ventilator  right  out  across 
the  roof  to  the  chimney  ? 

Col.  Waring. — Then  you  would  have  danger  from  the  down 
draft  when  your  kitchen  is  cold. 

Question. — The  trap  in  the  closet  would  not  prevent  that  draft 
coming  in  the  house? 

Col.  Waring. — You  are  ventilating  outside  of  your  trap. 


40 

Question. — That  is  what  I  said.  You  said  it  would  be  a  down 
draft  into  the  house.  How  could  it  be? 

Col  Waring. — It  would  be  a  down  draft  through  the  chimney 
and  out  through  the  stove  or  fire-place. 

Question. — What  is  the  width  of  the  lot  where  you  distribute 
the  waste  from  the  house  ? 

Col.  Waring. — The  main  drain  is  about  sixty  feet  long,  and 
there  are  nine  drains  about  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  each.  I 
have  had  it  in  use  just  ten  years.  It  was  put  in  ten  years  ago 
in  November. 

Question. — Your  pipes  average  about  fourteen  inches  from  the 
surface  ? 

Col.  Waring. — Not  more  than  ten  or  eleven. 

Question. — Suppose  you  have  a  level  surface  to  distribute  it 
over,  where  there  is  scarcely  any  fall  ? 

Col.  Waring. — You  need  scarcely  any.  Two  inches  in  a  hun- 
dred feet  is  enough,  and  you  can  always  get  that.  Within  the 
range  at  which  you  can  place  these  pipes,  you  can  always  get 
the  fall  you  need — even  if  you  have  to  put  the  pipes  a  little 
higher  at  one  end  than  at  the  other. 

Question. — Can  it  be  worked  without  a  flush  tank  ? 

Col.  Waring. — It  can  be ;  but  the  trouble  is,  you  always  keep 
the  ground  about  the  upper  end  of  the  pipes  saturated,  and  you 
have  to  depend  upon  the  rank  vegetation  that  grows  from  that 
excessive  moisture. 

Question. — You  say  you  have  had  these  drains  in  use  ten 
years  and  have  not  discovered  any  unpleasant  "odor  arising  from 
the  surface  ? 

Col.  Waring. — Yes. 

Question. — Would  that  probably  be  the  case  ten  years  hence  ? 

Col.  Waring.— I  don't  think  there  is  the  least  change  in  the 
character  of  that  ground.  I  think  it  is  exactly  the  same  as  it 
was  before  I  began  to  use  it.  I  think  the  oxidization  has 
destroyed  all  the  matter.  It  may  have  become  a  little  deeper  in 
color,  but,  practically,  I  think  it  is  the  same.  And  the  action 
of  this  material  is  so  very  slight  in  its  reach  that  while  my 
drains  are  six  feet  apart,  fully  four  feet  of  the  space  between 
them  shows  no  effect  of  the  sewerage  at  all. 

Question. — What  effect  has  the  frost  ? 


41 

Col.  Waring. — I  think  it  has  no  effect  at  all.  I  have  had  the 
ground  frozen  three  and  one-half  feet  down,  and  there  was  no 
trouble  in  my  pipes.  They  have  never  had  any  trouble  in 
Lenox.  One  great  point  about  it  is  that  it  is  so  cheap  and  sim- 
ple, and  so  entirely  within  the  hands  of  any  one  who  wishes  to 
use  it.  -If  these  poor  cottagers  down  by  the  canal  had  these 
pipes,  all  they  would  need  would  be  some  place  to  throw  in  a 
bucket  of  dirty  water  and  that  would  be  their  flush  tank.  [See 
Col.  Waring's  Report,  on  page  42,  for  further  details.] 

Col.  Waring  (reading  from  letter) — "  What  disinfectant  is  the 
best  for  ordinary  family  use  ?" 

Fresh  air. 

The  hour  had  become  too  late  to  discuss  all  the  questions  of 
Prof.  Schanck's  letter,  and,  on  motion,  the  meeting  was  here 
declared  adjourned. 


THE 

WEST  EWING  IMPROVEMENT  ASSOCIATION. 


REPORT  ON  THE  SANITARY  CONDITION 

OF  THE  WESTERN  PART  OF 

EWING  TOWNSHIP. 


BY  COL.  GEORGE  E.  WARING,  JR.,  NEWPORT,  R.  I. 


The  examination  upon  which  this  report  is  based,  includes 
an  investigation  into  the  character  and  condition  of  between 
forty  and  fifty  dwelling-houses,  including  the  disposal  of  house- 
hold wastes  and  the  water  supply.  No  good  purpose  would  be 
served  by  detailing  in  a  public  report  the  enumeration  of  defects 
of  private  property.  Sufficient  notes  have  been  taken  concern- 
ing each  place,  and  notification  is  given  to  the  respective  owners 
that  on  their  application,  any  information  which  may  be  desired 
beyond  that  of  a  general  character  not  included  in  this  report, 
will  be  cheerfully  furnished  free  of  charge. 

As  a  whole,  the  houses  average  certainly  better  than  is  usual 
in  an  agricultural  and  quarrying  district.  There  is  no  one  of 
them  which  might  not  be  very  considerably  improved  by  a 
sufficient  expenditure.  But  I  am  satisfied  that  in  so  far  as  they 
or  any  of  them  are  in  a  less  healthful  condition  than  similar 
houses  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  their  defects  are  chiefly 
due  to  two  causes: 

(1)  An  improper  disposal  of  liquid  and  solid  household  filth 
including  feecal  matter  with  its  attendant  fouling  of  the  air, 
and  its  contamination  of  the  water  supply,  and  in  some  cases  of 
the  cellars  of  the  houses.  In  some  instances^the  same  difficulty 
results  from  the  accumulation  of  the  manure  of  domestic 
animals  in  too  close  proximity  to  wells  or  dwellings. 


43 

(2)  A  malarious  condition  of  the  site  in  certain  parts  of  the 
town,  caused  by  stagnant  bays  at  the  side  of  the  canal;  by 
standing  water  in  the  quarries;  and  especially  by  the  damming 
back  of  the  natural  drainage  by  the  dam  at  Keeler's  saw-mill; 
this  latter  being  far  more  important,  in  my  judgment,  than  all 
other  defects  combined. 

It  is  not  worth  while,  in  making  recommendations  for  the 
practical  improvement  of  country-houses  like  those  under  con- 
sideration, to  advise  the  introduction  of  modern  improvements 
in  the  way  of  water  supply  and  drainage,  which  it  would  be  in 
some  cases  beyond  the  means,  and  in  nearly  all  cases  beyond 
the  inclinations,  of  the  proprietors  to  adopt.  It  seems  better  to 
confine  ourselves  to  a  few  simple,  practical  improvements  within 
easy  reach  of  all,  which  will  constitute  in  every  case  a  simple 
and  radical  improvement  over  the  present  conditions,  and  which 
will  be  as  much  in  the  way,  at  present,  as  it  can  reasonably  be 
hoped  to  secure. 

The  improvement  of  the  ventilation,  cleanliness,  and,  where 
necessary,  of  the  draining  of 

CELLARS, 

Is  certainly  very  important,  and  it  needs  no  instruction  from 
me  to  teach  all  householders  what  they  already  perfectly  well 
understand.  It  must  be  evident  to  all  that  a  wet,  close,  rnusty 
cellar,  with  no  access  for  fresh  air  during  the  Winter  time,  with 
accumulations  of  decaying  vegetables  and  rubbish,  is  not  a 
good  accompaniment  of  any  inhabited  house.  It  is  by  no 
means  necessary  tha,t  cellars  should  be  so  open  to  cold  winds 
as  to  lead  to  the  discomfort  of  those  who  live  in  the  rooms 
above  them.  But  there  should  certainly  be,  at  all  times  of 
the  year,  a  sufficient  opportunity  for  the  supply  of  fresh  air 
to  create  a  sufficient  circulation  to  remove  dampness  and  to 
carry  away  the  products  of  the  slight  inevitable  decomposition 
of  what  it  is  necessary  to  keep  in  them.  A  few  of  the  houses 
within  the  district  are  heated  by 

FURNACES. 

These,  I  believe,  with  hardly  an  exception,  take  their  air  sup- 
ply from  the  cellar.  No  matter  how  well  ventilated  and  how 


44 

clean  a  cellar  may  be,  its  atmosphere  is  never  fit  to  be  heated 
by  the  furnace  and  distributed  through  the  house.  It  is  a  very 
simple,  and  most  important,  matter  to  connect  the  air  supply  of 
the  furnace  with  the  outer  air  by  means  of  a  tight  wooden  box 
which  shall  exclude  the  atmosphere  of  the  cellar  from  the  heated 
flues. 


A    CESSPOOL    LEACHING    INTO    A    WELL. 
(From  "The  Sanitary  Engineer"  of  July  15, 1879.) 

What  is  not  so  well  understood,  or,  if  understood,  is  not  acted 
upon,  is  the  absolute  importance  of 

SUNLIGHT   AND   FRESH    AIR. 

Let  the  sun  have  free  access  to  the  outside  of  the  ivhole  house  at  some 
time  during  the  day,  and  keep  shutters  and  blinds  and  windows  open 
except  when  it  is  necessary  to  exclude  it.  Never  mind  faded  carpets; 
they  are  not  so  bad  as  faded  cheeks,  and  these  cannot  be  avoided  except 
by  fresh  air  and  ample  daylight. 


45 

THE   DISPOSAL   OF   HOUSEHOLD   WASTES 

Is  hardly  less  simple,  but  it  is  much  less  generally  under- 
stood; and  I  believe  it  is  safe  to  say  that  in  nearly  every 
instance  where  my  examinations  have  been  made,  the  system 
now  adopted  is  particularly  bad.  There  are  very  few  cases 
where  the  well  water  is  not  subject  to  dangerous  contamination 
by  the  leachings  from  privy  vaults  or  cesspools  or  hog-pens  or 
barn-yards,  or  by  the  settling  into  the  ground  of  the  drainage 
from  the  kitchen  sink. 

It  will  be  easy,  in  the  matter  of  hog-pens  and  barn-yards,  to 
prevent  the  leachings  of  their  manure  from  draining  toward  the 
well,  or  from  sinking  into  the  ground  near  the  well ;  and  this 
certainly  should  be  secured,  even  at  the  expense  of  selecting  a 
new  site  for  such  deposits,  and,  so  far  as  possible,  by  protecting 
manure  from  drenching  rains.  Such  protection  will  be  amply 
repaid  by  the  saving  of  fertilizing  matter  which  it  will  secure. 

The  specific  recommendation  that  I  make  is,  that  in  every 
case,  whether  it  be  a  well-appointed  farm-house  or  simply  a 
laborer's  tenement,  some  means  be  adopted  which  will  secure 
an  entire  abandonment  of  privy  vaults,  and  a  safe  disposal  of 
liquid  household  wasts.  These  are  two  distinct  items  of  the 
work,  which  may  be  carried  out  more  or  less  elaborately  accord- 
ing to  the  means  and  inclinations  of  the  proprietor.  I  propose  to 
recommend,  in  this  case,  only  the  simplest  and  cheapest  avail- 
able methods. 

THE  PRIVY 

Should  be  removed  from  its  foundation,  its  vault  should 
be  entirely  cleaned  out,  its  foundation  walls  should  be  removed 
and  the  excavation  should  be  continued  until  clean  earth 
is  exposed  at  every  point.  It  should  then  be  filled  to  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground  with  clean  earth,  and,  if  it  is  necessary  to  use 
the  same  site  in  future,  this  should  be  so  rammed  in  the  fill- 
ing as  to  prevent  future  settling.  It  will  be  better,  in  all  cases, 
to  remove  the  building  at  least  far  enough  to  secure  a  sound 
foundation.  The  building  should  then  be  set  on  posts  or  piers 
so  that  the  lower  side  of  its  sill  shall  be  at  least  eighteen  inches 
above  the  surface  of  the  ground;  suitable  steps  being  constructed 
for  its  approach.  Lay  on  the  ground,  with  cross-stays  to  hold 


46 


EARTH-CLOSET  PRIVY. 


SECTION 

SCALE  )&> 


IDRY  EARTH 


EARTH  BOX 


JDISJ 


:ARTH  BOX  wm 
OUT 


47 

them  in  position,  two  joists  extending  at  least  from  the  front  of 
the  seat  to  two  feet  outside  of  the  building,  at  the  rear. 

Make  a  box  of  stout  planks  to  rest  upon  these  joists,  large 
enough  to  reach  well  under  the  seat  and  high  enough  barely  to 
pass  the  sill  easily.  Secure  a  stout  handle  to  this  box  by  which 
it  may  be  drawn  out  over  the  joists  outside  when  necessary  for 
emptying.  The  inside  of  the  box  should  be  well  rendered  with 
hot  coal  tar  quite  to  the  top.  This  is  the  receptacle  for  fsecal 
matter.  Its  bottom  should  be  covered  at  least  to  the  depth  of 
one  inch  with  dry  earth  or  ashes.  In  the  house  there  should  be 
a  second  box  containing  dry  earth  or  screened  ashes,  and  a  hand 
scoop  should  be  furnished  with  which  to  throw  it  into  the  box 
below.  After  each  use  of  the  privy,  rather  more  than  a  pint  of 
this  material  should  be  thrown  down  to  cover  the  dejections  and 
and  to  absorb  the  urine.  From  time  to  time  it  will  be  necessary 
to  rake  down  or  level  off  the  accumulations,  and  when  the  box 
becomes  full  it  should  be  drawn  out  and  emptied,  its  contents 
being  used  as  manure.  This  constitutes  the  cheapest  form  of 
earth  closet;  and  it  secures,  if  care  is  given  to  the  uniform 
covering  of  the  deposits,  a  perfect  suppression  of  odor,  and 
entire  prevention  of  injurious  decomposition,  and  a  perfectly 
healthy  and  satisfactory  condition.  The  value  of  the  manure 
will  be  quite  sufficient  to  compensate  for  the  slight  additional 
trouble;  and  the  avoiding  of  the  horrible  stench  of  the  usual 
country  privy  will  secure  the  great  difference  between  a  brutal 
filthiness  and  civilized  decency.  Those  who  desire  something 
more  elaborate  and  more  convenient  in  its  operation,  may 
address  "  Earth  Closet  Company,  Hartford,  Conn.,"  for  the 
mechanical  apparatus  by  which  the  deposit  of  earth  is  made 
automatic. 

THE  DISPOSAL  OF  KITCHEN  SINK  WASTE, 

Chamber  slops  and  laundry  water,  is  a  question  which  has 
engaged  the  study  and  ingenuity  of  the  world  for  many  years.  I 
believe  that,  so  far  as  isolated  country-houses  are  concerned,  it  has 
been  perfectly  accomplished  by  the  system  known  as  "sub-sur- 
face irrigation,"  This  system  is  susceptible  of  much  elaboration, 
and  may  be  carried  out  in  an  expensive  manner;  but  its  essential 
results  may  be  secured  with  an  expense  so  trifling  that  not  even 
in  the  smallest  tenement-house  need  its  cost  be  an  obstacle  to 


48 


49 

its  adoption.  It  is  based  on  the  fact  that  the  surface  soil 
which  is  within  the  reach  of  the  roots  of  grass  or  other  plants, 
and  of  the  action  of  the  atmosphere,  is  a  very  active  destroyer 
of  organic  matter.  A  cotton  rag  buried  a  few  inches  under  the 
surface  is  very  soon  entirely  consumed  by  this  action ;  and  all 
decomposable  matter  so  placed  is  destroyed  by  oxidation  or 
slow  combustion  as  completely,  though  less  rapidly,  as  when  it 
is  thrown  into  the  fire.  In  order  to  make  this  process  continu- 
ous, it  is  necessary  that  there  should  be  free  access  of  air  into  the 
pores  of  the  soil.  In  the  case  of  liquid  wastes,  it  is  necessary 
that  the  discharge  be  intermittent,  for  when  a  constant  small 
stream  runs  into  the  ground,  saturating  a  small  area,  the  entrance 
of  the  air  is  prevented  and  the  oxidizing  action  is  retarded. 
With  even  a  few  hours'  interval  between  the  two  discharges,  the 
water  settles  away  into  the  ground,  which  acts  as  a  filter,  holding 
back  all  of  its  impurities,  and  its  descent  is  followed  by  the 
entrance  of  fresh  air,  which  immediately  attacks  and  destroys 
the  retained  organic  matter.  If  the  liquid  is  thrown  on  the 
top  of  the  ground,  it  produces  in  a  short  time  a  fuddled  condi- 
tion of  the  surface  which  prevents  the  free  entrance  of  air.  It 
is,  therefore,  desirable  to  introduce  it  into  the  soil  below  the 
surface,  allowing  it  to  soak  away  in  so  gradual  a  manner  that 
no  fuddling  of  the  earth  can  take  place.  This  introduction  into 
the  earth  is  by  the  use  of  common  agricultural  drain  tiles  with 
open  joints,  laid  not  more  than  ten  inches  below  the  surface. 
The  intermittent  action  is  secured  by  delivering  liquid  wastes 
into  these  tiles,  not  constantly,  but  from  time  to  time. 

In  the  case  of  a  small  tenement-house,  where  only  two  or 
three  pailfuls  of  waste  liquid  are  produced  in  the  course  of  the 
day,  this  absorption  drain  need  not  be  more  than  forty  feet 
long.  It  may  be  one  continuous  line  of  pipe,  or  it  may  be 
several  shorter  pipes  branching  from  one  main  line,  according 
to  the  space  devoted  to  the  use.  It  may  lie  under  the  grass  near  a 
row  of  currant  bushes,  under  a  grape-vine  trellis,  under  a  grass 
plat,  or  elsewhere.  Opening  into  it,  there  should  be  a  box  [See 
cut  on  page  48]  large  enough  to  hold  a  pailful  of  water;  and  the 
joints  of  this  box,  as  well  as  the  space  around  the  pipe  leading 
from  it,  should  be  made  tight.  It  may  be  covered  in  Winter,  as 
a  protection  against  frost;  but  in  Summer  it  will  be  better  that 
4 


50 


it  should  have  a  full  exposure  to  the  air.  A  wire  cloth  or  other 
screen  should  be  provided  at  its  top  to  act  as  a  strainer  to  hold 
back  coarse  matters  which  might  obstruct  the  pipe.  From  time 
to  time,  this  strainer,  which  should  be  movable,  can  be  emptied 
into  the  swill  barrel,  or  its  contents  may  be  thrown  upon  the 
manure  heap,  or  buried  in  the  ground.  The  liquid  which  passes 
the  strainer  will  enter  the  pipe,  leach  out  into  the  ground  and 
be  purified.  The  arrangement  described  will  be  quite  sufficient 
to  receive  the  contents  of  one  or  two  wash  tubs ;  but  it  should 
not  be  connected  with  the  kitchen  sink  delivering  only  a  small 
flow.  Whatever  is  thrown  into  it  should  go  with  a  rush,  so  as  to 
reach  as  far  as  possible  through  the  whole  length  of  the  drains. 
For  houses  of  larger  size,  producing  a  greater  amount  of  waste, 
the  length  of  drain  should  be  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to 
three  hundred  feet,  including  all  branches,  according  to  the  size 
of  the  family  and  the  freedom  with  which  water  is  used.  A 
uniform  distribution  through  this  length  of  pipe  cannot  be 
secured  by  throwing  into  it  a  pailful  at  a  time.  Some  arrange- 
ment should  be  adopted  which  will  retain  water  to  the  amount 
of  a  barrelful  or  more,  and  which  will,  when 
the  tank  becomes  full,  deliver  the  whole  con- 
tents suddenly.  The  apparatus  best  adapted 
for  this  use  is  known  as  "  Field's  Flush  Tank," 
which  is  made  of  cast  iron,  and  which  is  sold 
for  about  thirty  dollars,  by  A.  G.  Myers,  94 
Beekman  street,  New  York,.  A  much  cheaper 
arrangement  can  be  made  at  home,  which, 
while  not  having  the  advantage  of  the  Field 
automatic  siphon,  will  secure  the  same  result, 
if  attention  is  given  to  opening  and  closing  its 
outlet  by  hand.  The  construction  of  this  tank 
is  shown  on  page  48.  It  is  made  of  plank,  and 
is  separated  by  a  grease-catcher,  which  will  pre- 
vent congealed  grease,  floating  substances  and 
heavy  matters  from  passing  into  the  discharging 
chamber.  It  also  has  a  spatter-board,  to  prevent  the  disturbance 
of  the  sediment,  and  a  screen  to  hold  back  coarse  matters.  It 
is,  in  fact,  a  flushing  tank  with  a  grease-trap  intervening  between 
it  and  the  source  of  supply.  This  interposition  of  a  grease-trap 


FIELD'S  PATENT 
ANNULAR  SIPHON 


51 

is  covered  by  a  patent  of  my  own ;  but  permission  is  hereby 
given  to  any  member  of  the  West  Ewing  Improvement  Associ- 
ation to  use  it,  without  charge.  The  size  of  tank  indicated  in 
the  sketch  is  sufficient  for  three  hundred  feet  of  drain.  The 
capacity  of  its  second  or  discharging  chamber  may  be  propor- 
tionately reduced  or  increased  as  the  length  of  drain  is  made 
greater  or  less.  The  grease-trap  may  be  attached  to  any  waste- 
pipe  from  the  house,  or  it  may  be  filled  by  pouring  into  it  the 


contents  of  chamber  pails,  wash  tubs,  slop  pails,  &c.  The 
grease-trap  serves  to  hold  back  all  obstructing  matters.  The 
outlet  of  the  discharging  chamber  is  closed  by  a  plug  of  wood, 

DESCRIPTION  or  FIELD'S  FLUSH  TANK.— It  is  intended  to  be  placed  immediately  out- 
side of  the  walls  of  the  house,  and  to  receive  all  of  its  liquid  wastes.  It  is  made 
entirely  of  earthenware  or  of  cast  iron.  The  liquids  pass  through  the  grating  of  the 
pan  (B),  and  are  discharged  through  a  trap  which  prevents  the  contained  air  of  the 
tank  from  escaping.  (C)  is  a  socket  for  a  ventilating  pipe  to  carry  this  contained  air  to 
the  top  of  the  house.  The  tank  holds  about  20  or  30  gallons.  This  has  no  outlet 
save  through  the  siphon  (D).  The  outer  end  of  the  siphon  enters  a  discharging 
trough  (F),  which  is  made  to  turn  to  the  right  or  left,  so  that  its  mouth  may  be  directed 
as  required  to  connect  the  tank  with  the  line  of  outlet  pipes.  This  trough  is  of  a  pecu- 
liar shape  which  assists  small  quantities  of  liquid  in  bringing  the  siphon  into  action, 


52 

or  by  an  India  rubber  ball;  the  stopper  being  attachtd  to  a 
chain,  by  which  it  may  be  lifted  whenever  the  discharging 
chamber  becomes  full.  After  the  chamber  has  discharged  itself, 
this  outlet  should  be  tightly  closed.  To  make  this  arrangement 
automatic  in  its  working,  it  is  only  necessary  to  substitute  for 
the  plug,  the  Field's  Patent  Siphon  shown  on  page  50. 

A  little  judgment  will  be  necessary  in  adjusting  this  apparatus 
to  the  lay  of  the  land.  If  the  absorption  ground  is  to  be  placed 
at  some  distance  from  the  house — and  it  should  never  be  nearer 
than  fifteen  feet  to  any  well  from  which  drinking  water  is  taken 
— it  may  be  connected  with  the  flush  tank  by  a  vitrified  pipe 
with  very  securely-cemented  joints.  These  joints  should  first 
be  packed  with  oakum,  or  with  rags,  to  prevent  cement  from 
running  to  the  inside  of  the  pipe  and  making  rough  points 
to  arrest  foreign  substances  passing  through  to  them,  and 
they  should  be  covered  with  a  good  band  of  the  very  best 
hydraulic  cement — the  joints  not  being  covered  with  earth  until 
it  is  quite  certain  that  they  are  absolutely  tight.  This  precau- 
tion is  especially  necessary  in  passing  near  a  well.  The  absorp- 
tion tiles  should  be  two  inches  in  diameter,  and  only  one  foot 
long,  in  order  that  the  joints  may  be  frequent.  Their  form  is 
not  of  much  importance,  but  the  best  material  for  the  use  is 
the  round  pipes  with  gutter  tiles  to  lay  them  in,  and  caps  to 


instead  of  merely  dribbling  over  the  siphon  without  charging  it  as  they  otherwise 
would  do,  and  has  a  cover  which  can  be  removed  to  give  access  for  cleaning. 

When  the  tank  is  entirely  filled,  the  pouring  in  of  a  f«w  extra  quarts  of  water, 
which  is  sure  to  occur  at  some  time  during  the  day,  brings  the  siphon  into  action,  and 
it  flows  copiously  until  the  tank  is  emptied  to  the  depth  below  which  solid  matters 
are  permitted  to  accumulate,  to  be  occasionally  cleared  out  on  removing  the  pan  (B). 

As  the  sink  pipe  discharges  over  the  grating  of  the  trapped  inlet  (B)  outside  the 
house,  the  connection  between  the  drains  and  the  house  is  completely  broken,  and 
any  entry  of  foul  air  from  the  drain  is  rendered  impossible.  The  top  of  the  tank  is 
perfectly  closed  by  means  of  the  water  joint  around  the  cover,  and  the  cover  is  readily 
removed  when  required.  The  inlet,  moreover,  forms  a  basin,  which  may  be  used  for 
throwing  down  slops  outside  the  house. 

When  used  for  the  disposal  of  house  slops  where  no  regular  system  of  sewerage  exists, 
the  flush  tank  enables  all  house  refuse  to  be  removed  inoffensively— the  bed-room 
slops  being  thrown  down  the  basin  at  the  top  of  the  tank  outside  the  house — and  thus 
where  earth  or  other  dry  closets  are  used  for  the  excreta,  this  apparatus  supplies  a 
complete  sanitary  system  of  draimige.  The  concentration  of  the  flow  of  the  sewage 
effected  by  the  sudden  dischar^<j  of  the  tanks,  forces  the  liquid  rapidly  along  the 
pipes,  and  prevents  their  being  choked.  The  liquid  can  thus  be  distributed  over  a 
sufficient  area  of  ground  to  give  full  opportunity  for  the  soil  to  purify  it.  The  tanks 
are  ordinarily  made  to  contain  20  or  30  gallons  in  addition  to  space  for  deposit. 


53 

keep  the  dirt  from  entering  the  joints  from  above,  manufactured 
by  C.  W.  Boynton,  Woodbridge,  N.  J.  The  joints  must  not  be 
too  tight.  If  the  gutters  are  not  used,  the  tiles  should  be  laid 
on  strips  of  board,  for  it  is  now  and  then  necessary  to  remove 
some  portion  of  the  drain  to  clear  out  accumulations,  and  either 
the  gutters  or  the  strips  are  desirable  to  secure  their  being  relaid 
on  the  proper  grade.  The  grade  or  pitch  of  these  drains  should 
not  be  too  rapid,  lest  the  water  flow  too  much  to  the  far  end 


PIPES    RESTING   ON    THEIR    SHOULDERS. 

THE    IMPROPER    WAY    TO    LAY    THE    VITRIFIED    PIPE. 

and  force  its  way  up  to  the  surface  of  the  ground.  It  has  been 
found  in  practice  that  four  inches  fall,  or,  at  the  utmost,  six 
inches  fall  in  one  hundred  feet,  is  better  than  anything  steeper. 
If  the  land  slopes  more  than  this,  the  tiles  should  be  laid 
obliquely  across  the  slope.  If  the  yard  or  garden  where  the 
disposal  is  to  be  made  is  on  the  same  level  with  the  house,  the 
tank  will  have  to  be  built  considerably  out  of  ground.  If  the 
ground  about  the  house  is  higher  than  that  used  for  disposal,  it 


PIPES    RESTING   ON   THEIR    FULL   LENGTH. 

THE    PROPER    WAY    TO    LAY    THE    VITRIFIED    PIPE. 

may  be  built  entirely  in  the  ground.  In  this  latter  case,  the 
cemented  pipe  will  be  enough  below  the  surface  to  prevent  its 
disturbance  by  frost.  If  these  joints  must  be  within  eighteen 
inches  or  less  of  the  surface  of  the  ground,  the  course  of  the 
tight  part  of  the  drain  should  be  covered  with  litter  during  the 
Winter  season  ;  and  in  this  case,  as  well  as  in  that  of  the  one 
referred  to  above,  the  tank  itself  should  be  protected  against 


54 

frost.     Its  contents  will  be  so  warm  that  a  little  covering  will  be 
sufficient. 

I  repeat  that  I  am  disposed  to  confine  my  general  recommen- 
dations to  these  two  general  improvements.  If  their  general 
adoption  can  be  secured,  the  Association  will  have  accomplished 
a  result  which  cannot  fail  to  have  the  most  advantageous  influ- 
ence upon  the  health  of  the  community,  and,  I  am  disposed  to 
say,  upon  the  self-respect  and  comfort  of  its  members. 


RATS    AND    THE    TALE    THEY    TELL. 
(From  "The  Sanitary  Engineer"  of  July  15, 1879.) 

THE  BAYS  AT  THE  SIDE  OF  THE  CANAL 

Or  feeder  are  in  many  places  too  shallow.  Wherever  malaria 
has  gained  a  foot-hold,  as  it  certainly  has  in  this  vicinity,  shal- 
low, stagnant  water  should  be  avoided.  Every  pond  or  bay 
should  be  deep  enough  to  be  sufficiently  beyond  the  influence 
of  the  sun's  heat  to  prevent  vegetation  at  the  bottom.  The 
banks  of  these  bays  and  of  all  ponds  should  be  steep,  and  they 
should  be  grassed  to  the  waters  edge.  If  there  is  any  material 


55 

variation  in  the  level  of  water  in  the  canal,  by  which  its  edges 
are  made  alternately  wet  and  dry,  this  condition  must  be  over- 
come, or  the  people  must  accept  the  fact  that  they  live  in  the 
presence  of  a  source  of  malaria  which  they  cannot  remove. 
It  may  be  a  great  source  of  malaria  or  it  may  be  slight.  It 
certainly  is  incomparably  less  than  the  difficulty  caused  by 

KEELER'S  MILL-DAM. 

This  dam  I  consider  by  far  the  most  serious  factor,  so  far  as 
malaria  is  concerned,  with  which  we  have  to  deal.  Its  bad 
influence  is  felt  all  the  way  from  the  mill  up  to  the  rear  of  the 
River  Bend  estate,  and  as  much  farther  as  the  wind  is  capable 
of  bearing  the  malarial  influence. 

The  whole  question  of  malaria  is  imperfectly  understood, 
and  we  can  reason  about  it  only  from  ascertained  general  prin- 
ciples ;  but  some  of  these  are  so  well  demonstrated  that  no 
sanitarian  would  presume  to  disregard  them.  Two  different 
conditions  are  acknowledged  to  be  of  the  very  worst  character. 
They  are : 

(1)  The  complete  saturation  of  the  ground  within  a  short 
distance  of  the  surface,  that  surface  being  exposed  to  the  action 
of  the  sun. 

(2)  The  raising  and  lowering  of  the  levels  of  bodies  of  water 
so  that  their  shores  are  alternately  wet  and  dry. 

Both  of  these  conditions  are  secured  in  the  most  complete 
manner  in  the  case  in  question.  Much  of  the  land  bordering 
the  brook  and  its  enlargements,  which  constitute  Keeler's  mill- 
pond,  and  which  extend  for  nearly  a  mile  along  the  west  side 
of  the  canal,  is  so  low  as  to  be  completely  saturated  by  the 
water  of  that  brook.  The  supplies  of  this  stream  are  so  insig- 
nificant in  amount  that  they  can  count  as  very  little  against  the 
draft  upon  the  pond  when  the  mill  is  in  operation.  The  water 
is  drawn  off  much  more  rapidly  than  it  flows  in,  and  it  exposes 
wide  stretches  of  bank  to  the  action  of  the  sun. 

No  doubt  some  difficulty  comes  from  the  stagnation  of  water 
in  the  quarries,  and  still  more,  perhaps,  from  the  leaking  of  the 
canal.  It  is  possible,  too,  that  the  draining  between  Keeler's 
poncl  and  the  water-power  is  less  effective  than  it  should  be. 
But  all  these  may  be  overcome  if  the  dam  is  removed;  and  all 


56 

combined  are  insignificant  as  compared  with  the  pond,  which, 
in  my  opinion,  constitutes  a  nuisance  of  such  magnitude  that 
the  community  cannot  safely  permit  it  to  continue. 

That  there  results  from  the  sources  that  I  have  indicated,  a 
very  serious  malarial  condition  which  is  producing  a  disastrous 
effect  upon  the  people  who  live  in  this  vicinity,  is  fully  demon- 
strated by  an  investigation  recently  made  by  Rev.  Dr.  Lowrie. 


MILK    AND    PROVISION    ROOM    WITH    UNTRAPPED    SINK. 
(From  "The  Sanitary  Engineer.") 

This  investigation  relates  to  twenty-three  families,  being  all 
the  households  beginning  with  his  own  and  proceeding  up  the 
Greensburg  road,  and  at  the  quarries  immediately  about  the 
Greensburg  railroad  station.  The  inquiries  related  to  chills  and 
fever  during  the  Spring  and  Summer  up  to  the  middle  of  July. 
At  this  latter  date  there  were  only  three  households  in  which 
the  disease  did  not  exist  at  the  time,  and  one  of  these  three  had 
had  it  in  the  Spring.  The  total  number  of  cases  was  fifty-one. 


57 

Dr.  Lowrie  very  truly  says  :  "  Fifty-one  cases  of  chills  and  fever 
in  a  total  of  twenty-three  families  is  the  expression  of  no  small 
amount  of  misery." 

Obviously  there  are  no  means  by  which  the  difficulty  caused 
by  the  overflowing  and  saturation  of  the  land  by  the  mill-dam 
can  be  obviated  without  injury  to  the  water-power.  Therefore 
the  simplest  way  to  overcome  it  is  the  best  way.  The  first  step 
to  be  taken  is  to  extinguish  the  mill  right,  and  to  remove  the 
dam  entirely,  giving  the  brook  for  its  whole  length  up  to  and 
through  Mr.  Fisk's  estate  a  deep,  clean  and  permanent  channel. 
It  would  be  better  even  that,  wherever  practicable,  its  bed 
should  be  at  least  four  feet  below  the  level  of  its  immediate 
banks ;  the  banks  having  a  slope  of  two  horizontal  to  one  per- 
pendicular, and  being  grassed. 

I  have  been  asked  to  give  plans  and  estimates  of  the  cost  of 
this  work,  but  I  find  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  do  so  even 
approximately,  without  a  more  careful  survey  of  the  ground 
than  I  have  been  able  to  make.  Certainly  the  cost  need  not  be 
considerable,  and  it  can  bear  no  comparison  to  the  value  of  the 
result  to  be  secured. 


NOTES. 


The  Proper  Treatment  of  Deciduous  Hedges,  and  in  partic- 
ular of  the  Maclura  or  Osage  Orange. 

I.    PREPARATION  OF  THE  HEDGE  ROW. 

The  ground  should  be  in  good  condition,  i.  e.,  dry  enough 
and  mellow  enough  to  raise  a  good  crop  of  corn.  Spouty  lands 
should  be  drained ;  low,  wet  places  may  be  filled  up  by  ditching, 
on  either  or  both  sides,  raising  an  embankment,  which  should 
be  fully  eight  feet  wide;  This  may  be  done  by. the  plow  alone, 
or  by  using  the  scraper  also,  where  horses  can  be  worked,  other- 
wise the  spade  must  be  resorted  to. 

Have  your  line  surveyed  before  preparing  it;  find  exactly 
where  you  want  the  hedge  to  stand,  put  a  tall  stake  at  each  end, 
and  perhaps  several  between,  if  it  is  a  long  line;  plow  first  out 
from  the  row  on  both  sides  [See  Fig.  1],  then  finish  by  back  furrow - 


FIG.   1. 

ing,  so  as  to  leave  the  row  a  trifle  higher  than  the  surrounding 
surface,  to  throw  off  standing  water.  Harrow  and  roll  the  ground 
well,  and  set  stakes  in  a  straight  line  with  those  at  the  ends,  every 
five  rods.  Stretch  a  line  of  cotton  cord,  six  inches  to  one  side 
of  these  stakes,  for  a  guide  in  setting  the  plants. 

II.    SETTING  THE  PLANTS. 

This  should  be  done  in  the  Spring.  Prepare  the  plant  for 
setting,  by  thinning  off  all  side  roots,  and  cutting  back  the  main 
root  to  about  eight  inches  in  length.  The  plants  may  be  set  in 
various  ways,  either  by  the  use  of  the  spade,  dibble  or  trowel. 
The  plan  recommended  by  Warder,  in  his  "  Hedges  and  Ever- 
greens," as  being  most  sure  of  success  and  most  rapid,  is  "  to  stretch 


59 


a  line  upon  the  course  of  the  future  hedge,  on  the  mellow  and 
well-prepared  soil ;  then  a  clean  spade  is  pressed  deeply  into  the 
ground,  the  blade  being  in  a  vertical  direction  and  close  to  the 
line ;  pushing  the  handle  from  you,  a  crack  is  opened  to  the 
depth  of  the  instrument;  into  this  the  little  plant  is  inserted 
with  the  left  hand,  and  retained  in  its  position  while  the  spade 
is  withdrawn,  and  until  it  is  turned  with  its  face  toward  the 
operator  and  again  inserted,  at  a  distance  of  three  inches  from 
the  first  cut,  in  such  a  direction  that,  when  pressed  home,  the 
edge  shall  reach  the  point  of  the  first  cut,  near  the  place  occu- 
pied by  the  root  of  the  plant,  where  it  is  to  be  drawn  firmly 
toward  the  operator,  to  fix  the  plant  in  its  place.  This  operation 


FIG.   2. —  SHOWING  THE   YOUNG   PLANT  SET  IN   THE   ROW. 

is  rapid  and  very  simple ;  in  its  first  introduction,  the  blade  is  to 
be  perpendicular  or  vertical,  with  its  back  toward  you ;  in  the 
second,  the  handle  is  to  be  upright,  and  the  cavity  of  the  blade 
should  be  held  toward  the  digger.  The  distance  may  be  regu- 
lated by  the  eye,  and  a  little  practice  will  give  sufficient  accu- 
racy." 

Avoid  two  serious  errors,  viz. :  (1)  Crowding  the  row  too  near 
a  fence,  and  (2)  setting  the  plants  too  close  in  the  row.  Five 
feet  is  the  least  distance  which  the  row  should  be  planted  from 
a  fence,  and  the  plants  should  not  be  set  closer  together  than 
twelve,  and,  preferably,  eighteen  inches. 

III.    CULTURE  DURING  THE  FIRST  YEAR. 

For  the  first  year  or  two  the  main  object  is  to  make  good 
roots.  To  that  end  do  not  trim  the  hedge  any  the  first  year. 
Keep  the  hedge  row  clean  by  frequent  cultivation,  just  as  you 
would  a  row  of  corn,  and  late  in  the  Fall  plow  two  rather  heavy 
furrows  to  the  row,  forming  a  ridge  about  it  to  protect  the  roots; 
for  if  the  tops  be  frozen,  it  is  no  matter,  as  they  are  to  be  cut 
off  the  following  Spring. 


60 


61 

IV.    CULTURE  DURING  THE  SECOND  AND  SUCCEEDING  YEARS. 

A  most  important  duty  in  the  second  Spring  is  to  replace  all 
dead  or  sickly  plants  with  new,  strong  plants,  cutting  off  the 
tops  of  the  replants  as  they  are  set  out. 

The  culture  of  the  hedge  the  second  season  should  be  care- 
fully attended  to  and  the  ground  frequently  stirred  with  the 
plow  or  cultivator,  followed  by  the  hoe  when  necessary.  The 
following  directions  for  trimming  should  be  closely  followed : 

In  the  Spring  of  the  second  year,  the  whole  of  the  wood  is  to 
be  removed,  by  cutting  off  at  the  ground,  with  the  scythe  or 
mowing  machine. 

In  June  of  the  same  year,  or  so  soon  as  the  multitude  of 
shoots  that  will  have  made  their  appearance  have  become  suffi- 
ciently woody  to  bear  the  knife,  they  are  to  be  cut  off  at  four 
inches  from  the  ground  (See  Fig.  3).  This  will  reduce  the  hedge 
to  a  low  level,  although  the  horizontal  branches  may  spread 
over  one  or  two  feet,  or  more  in  width.  No  disturbance  of  the 
lateral  shoots  should  be  allowed,  as  they  are  wanted  to  give 
breadth  to  the  future  hedge;  and  unless  the  bottom  is  provided  at 
first,  it  can  never  be  afterward  supplied. 

The  line  d  in  the  illustration  shows  the  place  for  the  cut  to  be 
made  in  trimming  with  the  scythe  in  the  Spring  of  the  third 
year.  The  Summer  pruning  should  be  again  performed  in  June, 
and  should  follow  the  lines  ef  and  e  g  of  the  illustration,  for 
now  we  must  begin  to  give  the  hedge  its  proper  form.  The  end 
view  of  a  properly  trimmed  hedge  should  present  the  appear- 
ance of  letter  A.  This  shape  secures  to  every  leaf  and  twig  the 
benefit  of  all  the  sunshine,  air,  rain  or  dew,  that  it  is  possible 
for  it  to  receive. 

Again,  in  August,  the  hedge  should  be  trimmed,  being  careful 
to  preserve  the  pyramidal  form.  These  trimmings  need  not  be 
so  close  as  when  we  were  forming  the  base.  Six  inches  will  do 
very  well. 

The  trimming  of  subsequent  years  should  be  kept  up  on  the 
same  principle,  being  careful  to  preserve  the  slope  of  the  sides 
which  will  gradually  become  more  precipitous  as  years  go  by, 
but  which  must  never  be  allowed  to  assume  the  perpendicular 
form. — \_Condensed  from  Warder's  "Hedges  and  Evergreens  "  pub- 
lished by  the  Orange  Judd  Company,  245  Broadway,  New  York. 


62 


Sidewalks  and  Roadways.— How  to  Make  Them  and  How 
to  Take  Care  of  Them. 

I.    SIDEWALKS. 

No  one  thing  has  more  to  do  with  the  comfort  of  those  living 
in  the  country,  than  sidewalks  which  are  good  at  ail  seasons  of 
the  year. 

To  overcome  occasional  sloppiness  where  the  difficulty  is  not 
deep-seated,  there  is  no  cheaper  nor  hetter  device  than  to  dress 
the  surface  with  coal  ashes.  Indeed,  if  these  are  used  to  a  suffi- 
cient thickness,  they  are  practically  as  good  as  concrete  or  the 
best  gravel.  When  first  applied,  they  are  dusty  and  unpleasant; 
hut  the  first  wetting  lays  the  dust,  and  they  soon  settle  to  a  firm 


consistency  and  make  a  very  pleasant  walk,  with  the  great 
advantage  of  being  entirely  barren,  and  preventing  the  growth 
of  weeds  and  grass. 

It  is  a  common  impression,  that  all  thoro'ughly  good  foot- 
paths must  be  dug  out  to  a  considerable  depth,  filled  with  loose 
stones,  and  dressed  at  the  top  with  some  good  finishing  material ; 
but  this  is  not  necessary  even  for  the  best  work.  The  great 
point  is  to  secure  a  thorough  draining  of  the  sub-stratum,  so 
that  there  shall  be  no  rising  of  ooze-water  from  below,  and  so 
that  the  ground  shall  be  free  from  such  saturation  as  to  cause 
heaving  during  frost.  This  condition  may  be  secured  by  a  suit- 
able draining  of  the  ground  immediately  under  the  walk,  and 
by  the  use  of  a  well-compacted  and  tightly-bound  surface  cov- 
ering of  such  form  as  to  shed  or  turn  away  rain  water.  Figure 
1  shows  the  cross-section  of  a  foot-path  six  feet  wide,  on  slightly 
sloping  ground,  where  we  have  to  apprehend  an  oozing  of  subsoil 


63 

water  from  the  land  at  the  highest  side.  The  center  of  the  walk 
is  slightly  crowning, — say  one  inch  higher  than  the  sides, — so 
that  rain  falling  upon  it  will  flow  readily  toward  the  grass  border 
at  either  side.  To  prevent  the  ponding  of  water  at  the  sides 
when  the  ground  is  frozen,  the  surface  of  the  walk  at  its  edges 
should  be  well  above  the  level  of  the  adjoining  ground;  but  it 
may  be  necessary  under  some  circumstances  to  furnish,  here 
and  there,  a  channel  or  surface  gutter  across  the  walk,  to  allow 
the  accumulation  at  the  higher  side  to  escape.  Rarely  will  deep 
gutters  at  the  sides  be  necessary  or  desirable.  We  will  assume 
that  the  path  in  question  is  to  be  made  over  a  tenacious  clay 
soil,  with  a  considerable  oozing  from  the  hill-side, — the  most 
unfavorable  condition  that  can  be  found,  especially  in  cold  cli- 
mates. The  first  thing  to  be  secured  is  the  cutting  off  of  the 
subsoil  water  from  the  hill.  This  may  be  done  by  digging  a 
trench  as  narrow  as  possible — six  inches  will  be  better  than 
more,  as  requiring  less  filling  material — to  a  depth  of  three  feet. 
In  the  bottom  of  this  drain  lay  a  common  land-tile  drain,  with 
collars  at  the  joints,  if  these  can  be  procured,  and,  if  not,  with  a 
bit  of  paper  laid  over  the  joints  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  loose 
material,  and  to  hold  the  pipes  in  place  during  construction. 
The  ditch  should  then  be  filled  with  cinders,  gravel,  or  coarse 
sand.  If  stones  are  to  be  used,  they  should  be  broken  to  a 
small  size — not  more  than  one  inch  in  diameter — and  the  loose 
bits  should  be  mixed  with  them  in  the  filling.  Very  small 
interstices  will  be  sufficient  to  allow  water  to  pass  freely  through, 
while  if  large  stones  are  used,  with  large  interstices,  there  will 
be  danger  of  a  washing  in  of  earth  sufficient  in  time  to  obstruct 
both  the  stone  work  and  the  tile.  The  smaller  the  tile,  so  long 
as  it  is  sufficient  for  its  purpose,  the  better ;  for  lengths  of  five 
hundred  feet  or  less,  an  interior  diameter  of  an  inch  and  a 
quarter  will  be  sufficient ;  from  this  to  one  thousand  feet,  use 
an  inch  and  a  half  bore.  If  possible,  before  exceeding  this 
length,  secure  an  outlet  for  the  water  in  the  road-side  gutter  or 
some  other  channel  of  exit.  The  tile  drain,  at  a  depth  of  three 
feet,  will  remove  all  subsoil  water  from  under  the  walk  and  all 
that  may  be  delivered  into  the  loosely-filled  trench  at  its  side. 
The  loose  filling  of  the  trench  should  not  be  carried  nearer  than 
within  six  inches  of  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  should  be 


64 

covered  with  fine  and  well-packed  earth  to  prevent  the  entrance 
of  surface  water  which  would  soon  carry  in  silt  enough  to  stop 
its  action.  Whatever  covering  is  adopted  for  the  walk  itself,  it 
must  be  of  such  a  character  as  to  prevent  anything  like  a  free 
admission  of  surface  water.  Concrete  will  do  this  perfectly; 
and  either  ashes,  or  gravel  dressed  at  the  top  with  ashes,  if  well 
raked  and  rolled  at  the  outset  to  a  smooth  surface,  will  soon 
become  so  bound  together  as  to  shed  pretty  nearly  all  rain  fall- 
ing upon  it.  The  difference  in  cost  between  a  walk  made  in 
this  way,  and  one  dug  out  for  its  whole  width  to  a  depth  of  two 
feet,  and  filled  first  with  stone  and  then  with  gravel  and  a  suit- 
able surface  dressing,  will  be  very  important ;  and  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  the  cheaper  will  be  at  least  as  good  and  durable  as  the 
more  expensive  method. 

II.    KOADWAYS. 

The  great  expense  of  macadamizing  or  telfordizing  puts  these 
systems  almost  out  of  the  reach  of  small  communities.  Wher- 
ever the  original  expense  can  be  borne,  the  subsequent  cost  of 
maintenance  will  be  so  slight,  and  the  result  generally  will  be 
so  satisfactory,  as  to  make  it  always  a  good  investment.  The 
circumstances  under  which  these  costly  forms  of  construction 
may  be  adopted  will  be  greatly  extended  if  we  can  overcome  the 
prevalent  American  prejudice  in  favor  of  wide  roadways. 

Under  most  circumstances  twenty  feet  -of  roadway  will  be 
ample.  This  will  allow  the  moving  of  three  vehicles  side  by 
side,  and  will  give  a  leeway  of  six  feet  between  two  vehicles 
passing  each  other. 

On  both  sides  of  this  roadway,  except  for  the  necessary  side- 
walks, the  whole  space  to  the  fences  should  be  in  well-kept  grass, 
which  is  the  cheapest  to  secure,  the  most  economical  to  maintain, 
and  the  most  agreeable  to  see,  of  all  ground  covering. 

In  considering  the  width  to  be  given  to  roadways,  it  should 
be  understood  that  every  form  of  road  is  more  or  less  costly 
to  make  and  keep  in  order,  and  that  the  cost  of  both  items  is  in 
direct  proportion  to  the  width.  If  to  the  cost  of  making  and 
grading  an  ordinary  roadway  sixty  feet  wide,  we  add  the  capital 
sum  whose  interest  would  be  necessary  to  keep  this  width  in 
good  repair,  we  shall  have  an  amount  that  would  go  far  toward 


65 

the  construction  and  maintenance  of  a  road  of  the  very  best 
quality  only  thirty  feet  wide.  Furthermore,  while  it  is  impos- 
sible to  estimate  such  items  exactly,  and  while  the  amount  thus 
saved  cannot  be  controlled  for  the  road-making  account,  the 
saving  in  the  wear  and  tear  of  vehicles,  and  in  the  team  force 
needed  to  move  heavy  loads,  constitutes  an  important  argument 
in  favor  of  the  best  construction.  The  amount  thus  saved  in 
the  short  streets  of  villages,  where  the  principal  traffic  is  over 
rough  country  roads,  would  not  be  very  great,  but  it  would 
enable  the  road  authorities  of  the  township  to  realize  the  advan- 
tage of  first-rate  roads  and  the  degree  to  which  the  narrowing 
of  the  roadAvay  cheapens  construction.  As  a  result,  there  would 
soon  be  an  extension  of  the  improvement  over  the  more  import- 
ant highways  into  the  country,  where  a  well-metalled  width  of 
twelve  feet  would  accommodate  nearly  the  whole  traffic,  and 
where  the  proper  application  of  a  cheap  system  of  under- 
drainage  would  make  well-metalled  roads  extremely  cheap  to 
maintain. 

In  the  island  of  Jersey,  there  are  many  excellent  roads  only 
six  feet  wide.  These  are  provided  with  frequent  little  bays  or 
turn-outs  to  allow  teams  to  pass  each  other.  Although  such 
extremely  narrow  roads  are  not  to  be  recommended,  the  differ- 
ence in  comfort  and  economy  of  team-power  between  these  and 
the  average  American  dirt  road  is  enormously  in  their  favor. 
The  widest  roads  in  Jersey,  leading  from  a  busy  town  of  thirty 
thousand  inhabitants  into  a  thickly-settled  farming  region  where 
business  and  pleasure  travel  is  very  active,  and  where  "  excur- 
sion cars"  carrying  thirty  or  forty  persons  are  constantly  passing, 
are  only  twenty-four  feet  wide;  often  only  of  this  width  between 
the  hedge-rows,  the  road  itself  being  an  excellent  foot-path  for 
its  whole  width.  Nowhere  else  in  the  world  is  the  rural  charm 
more  perfectly  developed  than  in  Jersey,  and  no  element  of  its 
great  beauty  is  so  conspicuous  and  so  constantly  satisfactory  as 
its  narrow  and  embowered  lanes  and  roadways. 

The  great  enemy  of  all  roads  is  excessive  moisture ;  and  the 
chief  purpose  of  all  methods  of  improvement  is  to  get  rid  of  this, 
or  to  counteract  its  effect.  As  in  the  case  of  foot-paths,  wher- 
ever the  porous  character  of  the  subsoil,  and  the  absence  of 
higher-lying  wet  lands,  is  such  that  no  accumulation  of  water 
5 


66 

upon  or  under  the  roadway  need  be  feared,  the  greatest  diffi- 
culty is  at  once  set  aside. 

Where  such  natural  drainage  is  secured,  no  artificial  under- 
drainage  will  be  needed.  In  many  more  instances,  all  that 
will  be  required  in  the  way  of  draining  will  be  to  lead  away  the 
sources  of  wet-weather  springs,  which  break  through  the  road- 
bed and  cause  deep  sloughs.  Where  incomplete  or  partial  artifi- 
cial under-draining  is  needed,  the  need  is  absolute ;  and  whether 
~we  consider  the  durability  of  the  road,  or  the  degree  to  which 
its  traffic  is  interfered  with  by  its  wet  condition,  we  may  be 
confident  that  every  dollar  spent  in  well-directed  under-drain- 
ing will  be  invested  to  the  very  best  advantage. 

If  the  trouble  is  local,  here  and  there  in  spots,  and  is  obviously 
caused  by  the  breaking-  up  of  springs  from  the  road-bed,  such 
partial  work  may  be  adopted  as  will  tap  the  sources  of  these 
springs,  and  lead  their  water  harmlessly  away.  Gisborne,  one 
of  the  best  agricultural  writers  of  England,  put  the  case  tersely 
and  well  when — objecting  to  the  system  of  circumventing 
springs — he  said  "  Hit  him  straight  in  the  eye,  is  as  good  a  maxim 
in  draining  as  in  pugilism."  It  is  best  not-  to  pass  up  at  the 
side  of  a  spring,  and  so  creep  around  behind  it  to  head  off  its 
water ;  but  to  drive  the  drain  straight  -through  it,  and  far  enough 
beyond  it  to  tap  and  lead  away  at  a  lower  level  the  water  which 
causes  it.  These  drains,  as  well  as  all  others  intended  simply  to 
remove  subsoil  water,  and  not  to  cut  off  a  weeping  stream,  are 
best  made  with  common  drain-tiles  laid  as  before  directed,  and 
covered  immediately  with  well-packed  earth."  Water  enters  an 
under-drain,  not  from  above,  but  from  below ;  that  is  to  say,  as 
water,  from  whatever  source,  fills  the  subsoil,  it  rises  therein 
until  it  reaches  the  floor  of  the  drain,  when  it  enters  and  is  led 
away,  just  as  water  falling  into  a  cask  which  stands  on  end 
flows  off  at  the  under  side  of  the  bung-hole  when  it  reaches  its 
level.  Even  if  the  cask  be  filled  to  the  top  with  earth,  the  rain 
falling  upon  it  will  descend  perpendicularly  to  the  bottom,  and 
will  flow  off  at  the  bung  only  when  the  soil  to  that  level  has 
become  saturated.  It  will  descend  through  the  soil  by  the 
straightest  course,  and  will  raise  the  general  level.  It  will  not 
violate  the  laws  of  gravitation,  and  run  diagonally  toward  the 
point  of  outlet,  as  seems  to  be  the  general  supposition  when  the 


67 


perplexing  question,  "How  does  water  get  into  the  drain?"  is 
first  considered.  When  we  drive  a  drain  through  a  spring  and 
into  the  water-bearing  stratum  which  feeds  it,  we  simply  make 
it  easier  for  the  water  to  escape  by  the  drain  than  to  keep  on  at 
the  higher  level,  and  break  out  at  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  sidewalks  illustrated  in  Figure  1,  in  cut- 
ting off  a  continuous  weeping  or  ooze  from  higher  land,  it  is 
best  to  introduce  a  vertical  filling  of  porous  material  through 
which  the  water  will  descend  and  enter  the  drain  ;  but,  except- 
ing this  single  instance,  all  that  we  need  to  do,  so 
for  as  subterranean  work  is  concerned,  is  to  fur- 
nish an  easy  and  sufficient  channel  for  the  removal 
of  subsoil  water. 

What  constitutes  a  sufficient  drain  is  something 
very  much  less  than  what  is  generally  supposed. 
In  ordinary  agricultural  drainage,  where  the  lines 
of  tiles  are  forty  feet  apart,  a  well-laid  tile  an  inch 
and  a  quarter  in  diameter  is  sufficient  for  a  length 
of  one  thousand  feet — that  is,  it  is  sufficient  to  re- 
move the  water  of  filtration  from  an  acre  of  land. 
If  laid  with  only  an  inclination  of  six  inches  in 
one  hundred  feet,  its  delivery  will  be  so  rapid  as 
to  amount  to  more  than  a  heavy,  continuous  rain- 
fall upon  this  area.  In  road  drainage,  the  same 
rule  would  hold  true;  but,  as  the  soil  offers  a  cer- 
tain resistance  to  the  rapid  descent  of  water,  it  is 
best  to  give  a  means  of  outlet  at  smaller  inter- 
vals ;  and  for  the  best  work  in  roads  thirty  feet 
wide  or  more,  three  drains  could  be  used  with 
advantage.  In  no  case,  however,  need  the  size  of 
pipes  be  larger  than  above  indicated,  if  the  form 
of  the  tiles  is  true,  and  if  they  are.  well  joined 
together  at  their  ends. 

Figure  2  shows  the  cross-section  of  a  country 
road  thirty  feet  wide,  with  three  lines  of  tile-drain 
laid  at  a  depth  of  about  three  feet  below  it.  Ex- 
cept in  case  of  necessity,  these  drains  should  have 
an  inclination  of  not  less  than  six  inches  in  one 
hundred  feet.  There  is  no  objection  to  their  hav- 


68 

ing  more  than  this  wherever  the  lay  of  the  land  permits  or 
requires  it.  They  mav^  often  have  considerably  less  in  case  of 
need;  but,  the  smaller  the  rate^of  inclination,  the  greater  the 
care  needed  in  securing  a  true  grade.  The  water  of  these  drains 
should  be  collected  into  a  single  drain,  and  led  away  at  inter- 
vals of  from  five  hundred  to  one  thousand  feet.  It  may  be 
delivered  into  a  road-side  gutter,  or  into  a  collecting  under- 
drain,  according  to  the  requirements  of  the  situation. 

The  removal  of  excessive  subsoil  moisture  being  secured, 
attention  should  next  be  given  to  the  surface  of  the  road,  which 
should  be  finished  with  the  firmest  material  at  hand — with 
the  common  earth  of  the  subsoil  where  nothing  better  can  be 
afforded — and  which  should  be  brought  to  a  true  grade,  with 
a  very  slight  slope  from  the  center  to  the  edge.  For  a  road 
thirty  feet  wide,  the  elevation  of  the  center  above  the  level  of 
the  edges  should  not  be  more  than  four  or  six  inches,  and  the 
grade  should  be  made  on  a  straight  fine  rather  than  on  a  curve. 
If  the  road  is  made  as  flat  as  the  turning-off  of  surface-water 
will  permit,  it  will  be  traveled  upon  in  all  its  parts;  while  if 
it  is  crowned  to  a  high  arch,  as  is  often  the  case,  it  will  soon  be 
found  that  the  best  place  to  drive  is  in  the  middle  of  the  road, 
and  foot-tracks  and  wheel-tracks  will  soon  form  slight  channels 
or  ruts  which  will  lead  water  lengthwise  along  the  road,  and 
which  will  cause  an  undue  amount  of  wear  and  washing.  A 
road  may  be  actually  flat  to  the  eye,  and  equally  convenient 
for  travel  at  every  part  of  its  width,  and  stiU  have  enough  lat- 
eral slope  to  cause  water  to  run  off  from  it. 

It  is  especially  desirable  that  no  surface-water  flowing  from 
the  road-side  (above  all,  when  frost  is  coming  out  of  the  ground 
in  the  Spring)  be  permitted  to  run  on  to  the  road.  This  should 
be  effectively  prevented  by  the  formation  of  sufficient  gutters, 
with  such  outlets  as  will  prevent  ponding  at  the  sides  of  the 
road.  When  it  is  necessary  to  carry  the  water  of  the  gutters 
from  one  side  of  the  road  to  the  other,  culverts  should  be  pro- 
vided; and  wherever  the  slope  of  the  road  is  sufficient  to  cause 
water  to  flow  along  it  lengthwise — that  is,  wherever  the  inclina- 
tion is  more  than  about  one  in  fifty— there  should  be  frequent 
slight  depressions  from  the  center  diagonally  toward  the  gutters  to 


69 

carry  the  flow  away  before  it  can  accumulate  sufficiently  to  form 
a  washing  current. 

If  it  can  be  done  without  hauling  additional  material,  it  is 
always  well  to  raise  the  road-bed  somewhat  above  the  level  of 
the  adjoining  land,  and  this  may  usually  be  accomplished  by 
throwing  upon  it  the  subsoil  of  the  gutters.  In  no  case  should 
surface-soil,  sods,  or  fine  road-mud  be  used  for  repairs.  The  most 
serious  objection  to  the  absurd  system  of  road  mending  so  common  in  this 
country  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  annual  repairing  is  little  more  than 
the  ploughing  up  and  throwing  back  upon  the  roadway  of  the  soft  and 
unsuitable  material  which  has  been  washed  into  the  gutters. 

It  is  easy,  in  the  country,  to  have  the  grades  of  all  roadways 
so  regulated  as  to  shed  rain-water  falling  upon  them,  and  to 
have  them  so  furnished  with  side  gutters  as  to  prevent  water 
from  the  road-side  from  running  on  to  them.  The  simplest  way 
to  effect  this,  and  the  neatest  way,  too,  is  to  make  gutters  outside 
of  the  line  of  the  road,  say  six  inches  deep  and  eight  feet  wide, 
these  being  at  once  sodded  or  sown  with  grass  and  grain  to  give 
an  early  protection  against  washing ;  made  on  such  a  shallow 
curve,  they  will  afford  no  obstruction  to  any  system  of  mowing 
that  may  be  adopted,  while  their  great  width  will  give  them 
sufficient  capacity  to  carry  away  the  water  of  considerable  storms. 

The  work  of  construction  having  been  duly  attended  to,  it  is  no 
less  important  to  provide  for  regular  and  constant  care.  Any 
rutting  that  comes  of  heavy  traffic  in  bad  weather  should  be 
obliterated  either  by  raking,  or,  better  still,  by  filling  the  ruts 
with  gravel  or  ashes.  If  such  work  is  attended  to  immediately  on 
the  occasion  for  it  arising,  the  amount  of  labor  required  will  be  very 
slight;  for  it  is  especially  true  with  reference  to  roads,  that  "  a  stitch  in 
time  saves  nine."  If  the  filling  of  ruts  and  wheel-tracks  be  done 
in  time,  the  serious  damage  that  comes  from  guttering  flows  of 
water  lengthwise  along  the  road  may  be  almost  entirely  avoided. 
— [Extracts,  with  permission,  from  Waring's  "  Village  Improvements 
and  Farm  Villages"  published  by  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  Boston, 
Mass.  See,  also,  Gillespie's  Roads  and  Railroads. 


70 


Lawns— Best  Mixtures  of  Grass  Seeds. 

Charles  L.  Flint,  in  nis  book  entitled  "  Grasses  and  Forage 
Plants,"  recommends  the  following  mixtures : 

He  says :  "  If  the  object  be  to  make  a  permanent  lawn,  as  is 
frequently  desirable,  around  or  in  sight  of  the  farm-house,  some- 
thing like  the  following  mixture  will  generally  be  found  to  give 
satisfactory  results : 

POUNDS. 

Meadow  Foxtail 2 

Sweet-scented  Vernal  Grasses 1 

Redtop 2 

Hard  Fescue 3 

Sheep's  Fescue .....  1 

Meadow  Fescue 4 

Red  Fescue , 2 

Italian  Rye  Grass 3 

Perennial  Rye  Grass 6 

Timothy 3 

June  Grass 4 

Rough-stalked  Meadow  Grass 2 

Yellow  Oat  Grass 1 

Perennial  Clover 2 

Red  Clover 2 

WhiteClover 6 

Total 44 

This  mixture  will  resist  the  effects  of  our  severe  droughts 
better  than  those  commonly  used  for  lawns.  If  anything  is 
omitted  from  it,  the  red  and  perennial  clovers,  the  yellow  oat 
grass,  and  a  part  of  the  rye  grass  could  best  be  spared.  Red 
clover,  like  other  coarse  and  large-leaved  plants,  rather  mars 
the  beauty  of  fine  lawns ;  though,  as  it  disappears  mostly  after 
the  second  year,  it  may  be  of  service  in  protecting  the  finer 
grasses.  Lawns  kept  frequently  mown  are  of  most  use  as  fur- 
nishing food  for  calves  and  sheep,  and  are  less  adapted  to  sup- 
ply the  wants  of  larger  animals. 

Another  mixture  for  lawns  and  pleasure  grounds,  which  are 
to  be  often  mown  or  kept  short,  is  recommended  by  Parnell,  as 
follows : 


71 

POUNDS. 

Crested  Dog's-tail 11 

Yellow  Oat  Grass  « 8 

Hard  Fescue 5 

Wood  Meadow 4 

June  Grass 2 

Rough-stalked  Meadow 2 

Redtop 4 

Whitetop 4 

Total 40 

Lawns  furnished  with  suitable  grasses  become  much  finer 
and  more  velvety,  from  frequent  mowing,  than  they  otherwise 
would  be.  The  Lawson's  mixture,  for  lawns  frequently  mown, 
consists  mainly  of  the  same  species,  but  in  different  proportions. 
It  is  as  follows : 

POUNDS. 

Crested  Dog's-tail 10 

Hard  Fescue 4 

Slender  Fescue , 2 

Perennial  Rye  Grass 10 

Wood  Meadow  Grass , 2 

Rough-stalked  Meadow 1 

Yellow  Oat  Grass , 1 

June  Grass 8 

White  Clover 8 

Total 46 

A  mixture  for  permanent  lawn  pastures,  or  pastures  lying  in 
the  vicinity  of  dwellings  or  public  highways,  where  the  owner 
has  some  regard  to  fineness  and  beauty  of  herbage,  should,  I 
think,  be  composed  of  a  still  larger  number  of  species. 

The  following  is  suggested  as  most  likely  to  secure  the  end 
desired : 

POUNDS. 

Meadow  Foxtail 3 

Sweet-scented  Vernal 2 

Orchard  Grass 3 

Hard  Fescue , 2 

Sheep's  Fescue 2 

Meadow  Fescue 2 


72 

POUNDS. 

Italian  Rye  Grass 3 

Perennial  Rye  Grass 4 

Timothy 3 

Redtop 3 

June  Grass 4 

Rough-stalked  Meadow 3 

Yellow  Oat  Grass 1 

Red  Clover 2 

Perennial  Red  Clover 2 

White  Clover 4 

Total 43 

In  all  such  mixtures  the  early  Spring  and  the  late  Autumn 
growth,  as  well  as  the  general  luxuriance  of  the  Summer  herb- 
age, are  to  be  regarded.  Grasses,  therefore,  which  are  charac- 
terized by  their  early  and  late  growth,  become  of  great  value 
and  importance  in  the  mixture,  even  though  their  nutritive 
qualities  are  slight,  and  though  they  may  be  comparatively 
valueless  as  field  grasses  to  be  mown  for  hay." 


Factory  Adornment. 

An  important  work  of  rural  improvement  in  many  towns, 
would  be  the  betterment  of  the  surroundings  of  their  factories. 
Too  frequently  these  grounds  are  disfigured  with  rubbish,  and 
made  unsightly  by  neglect.  Keep  a  man  in  a  pig-sty,  and  he 
would  become  swinish  in  his  habits,  but  reverse  these  condi- 
tions, and  you  reverse  the  results.  The  influence  of  flowers, 
shrubbery,  or  neat  and  cultivated  grounds,  upon  operatives,  in 
refining  their  taste  and  promoting  their  happiness,  I  contend  is 
too  often  ignored.  There  is,  however,  a  goodly  number  of  our 
most  successful  manufacturers,  who  show  their,  interest  in  their 
hands  by  making  their  factory  buildings  and  tenement-houses 
inviting,  comfortable  and  healthful,  and  adorning  the  surround- 
ing grounds. 


73 

The  two  model  manufacturing  villages  of  America,  and,  so  far 
as  I  have  been  able  to  observe,  of  the  world — the  Cheney  Silk 
Factory,  in  South  Manchester,  Connecticut,  and  the  Fairbanks 
Scale  Works,  in  St.  Johnsbury,  Vermont — happily  illustrate  the 
desirableness  and  results  of  better  provisions  for  the  taste  and 
comfort  of  operatives.  I  do  not  assume  that  all  factories  can 
fully  adopt  the  high  standard  of  these  remarkable  establish- 
ments, which  are  exceptional  in  their  opportunities.  There  are 
serious  embarrassments  in  large  manufacturing  towns,  especially 
where  the  factories  are  controlled  by  non-resident  owners,  more 
anxious  for  dividends  than  for  the  comfort  and  improvement  of 
their  workmen. 

In  the  factories  above  named,  there  has  evidently  been  mutual 
sympathy  and  interest  between  employers  and  employed.  The 
senior  Governor  Fairbanks  used  to  say  to  his  men,  "  You  should 
always  come  to  me  as  to  a  father."  He  maintained  relations 
of  kindness  with  them,  visiting  the  sick,  helping  the  needy, 
counseling  the  erring,  encouraging  their  thrift  and  enjoining 
habits  of  economy.  He  taught  them  that  it  was  their  interest 
and  duty  "to  lay  up  something  every  month."  He  was  a  con- 
spicuous example  at  once  of  strict  economy  and  princely  liber- 
ality. The  fact  that  so  many  of  the  workmen  here  are  "  fore- 
handed," besides  owning  their  homesteads,  is  due  to  his  teaching 
and  example.  The  worth  and  dignity  of  work  he  illustrated  in 
theory  and  practice.  His  sons  worked  in  the  shop  and  thor- 
oughly learned  the  trade.  Of  course  there  is  here  the  happiest 
conciliation  between  labor  and  capital.  It  is  not  strange  that 
the  workmen  "hold  on."  Many  have  worked  in  this  factory 
from  twenty  to  forty  years.  The  liberal  provisions  for  the  educa- 
tion, improvement,  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  hands, 
explain  the  absence  of  discontent,  and  the  uniform  good  feeling 
and  harmony  which  prevail.  How  to  harmonize  labor  and  cap- 
ital, is  now  one  of  the  great  questions  of  the  age.  Many  mil- 
lions of  money  have  been  lately  lost  in  this  country  and  in  Eng- 
land, by  needless  antagonisms  between  those  who  should  be 
partners. 

B.  G.  NORTHROP. 


fl   A 

74 


The  Lenox  System  of  Sewage,  as  described  by  Col.  Waring-, 
in  his  "Village  Improvements." 

"  The  third  system — the  distribution  of  sewage  through  irri- 
gation pipes  laid  at  the  depth  of  ten  or  twelve  inches  below  the 
surface  of  the  ground — has  its  efficiency  attested  by  numerous 
instances  in  private  grounds.  I  have  adopted  this  system  for 
disposing  of  the  sewage  of  the  village  of  Lenox,  Mass.,  where 
there  was  no  other  means  available  short  of  cutting  an  outlet, 
at  great  expense,  through  a  considerable  elevation.  This  method 
is  an  extremely  simple  one,  and  is  available  in  every  instance 
where  even  a  small  area  of  land  lying  slightly  below  the  level 
of  the  outlet  is  to  be  commanded.  The  arrangement  of  the  sub- 
irrigation  pipes  is  easily  made:  Suppose  that  in  land  having  an 
inclination  of  about  one  in  two  hundred,  occupied  by  grass  or 
other  growth,  a  trench  be  dug  twelve  inches  deep,  that  there  be 
laid  upon  the  bottom  of  this  trench  a  narrow  strip  of  plank  to 
insure  a  uniform  grade,  and  that  upon  this  plank  is  laid  a  line 
of  common  agricultural  land-drain  tiles,  say  two  inches  in  diam- 
eter. However  carefully  these  tiles  may  be  placed,  there  will 
be  at  their  joints  a  sufficient  space  for  the  leaking  out  of  any 
liquid  they  may  contain;  the  tiles  being  laid  either  with  collars 
around  the  joints,  or  with  bits  of  paper  laid  over  them,  to  pre- 
vent the  rattling  in  of  loose  earth  during  the  filling.  The  exca- 
vated earth  is  to  be  returned  to  its  place,  well  compacted,  and 
covered  with  its  sod.  Suppose  this  drain  to  have  a  cross-section 
equal  to  three  square  inches,  and  a  length  of  <yne  hundred  feet, 
its  capacity  will  equal  about  sixteen  gallons,  or  a  half-barrel. 
If  this  amount  of  liquid  be  rapidly  discharged  into  the  drain, 
the  inclination  being  slight,  it  will  at  once  be  filled  or  nearly 
filled  for  its  whole  length,  and  the  liquid  will  leak  away  in  tol- 
erably uniform  proportion  at  every  joint  along  the  line,  and  will 
saturate  the  surrounding  earth.  The  plan  adopted  at  Lenox,  and 
recommended  for  all  small  villages  which  cannot  secure  a  better 
outlet,  is  simply  a  multiplication  of  these  drains  to  a  sufficient 
extent. 

A  description  of  the  manner  in  which  the  Lenox  work  is 
arranged  will  illustrate  the  adaptation  of  the  system  to  its  cir- 
cumstances. As  circumstances  vary,  the  adaptation  must  be 
modified.  (See  Diagram.) 


75 


76 

The  main  outlet  sewer  delivers  at  a  distance  of  about  one-half 
mile  from  the  last  junction  with  a  branch  sewer.  It  is  a  six- 
inch  pipe  five  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  it 
delivers  into  a  flush-tank  like  that  shown  on  page  51,  but  having 
a  capacity  of  about  five  hundred  cubic  feet.  This  tank  stands 
at  the  upper  side  of  a  field  having  an  inclination  of  seven  in  one 
hundred.  There  is  a  branch  from  the  main  sewer,  above  the 
tank,  supplied  with  a  stop-cock,  by  which,  in  case  of  need,  the 
sewage  may  be  carried  on  down  the  hill  without  going  into  the 
tank.  The  outlet  from  the  chamber  below  the  siphon  leads  off 
in  another  direction  down  the  hill,  and  has  a  stop-cock  and  a 
branch  which  will  allow  its  flow  to  be  diverted.  The  discharge 
of  this  diverted  stream  and  the  discharge  through  the  branch  of 
the  main  above  the  tank,  both  deliver  into  a  horizontal  surface 
gutter  to  be  well  grassed,  and  lying  at  the  top  of  the  land  to  be 
irrigated.  By  this  arrangement,  should  repairs  become  neces- 
sary in  the  tank,  the  flow  may  be  turned  into  the  gutter;  or, 
should  it  be  desired  for  any  reason  to  use  the  outflow  of  the 
tank  for  surface  irrigation,  the  second  branch  outlet  will  deliver 
it  into  the  same  gutter,  where,  the  outflow  being  uniform  along 
the  whole  length  of  five  hundred  feet,  the  stream  will  pass  in  a 
thin  sheet  off  on  the  descending  ground.  The  hill-side  imme- 
diately below  the  gutter,  is  brought  to  a  true  grade  and  covered 
with  grass.  As  its  inclination  is  much  greater  than  would  be 
admissible  for  sub-irrigation  drains,  these  are  laid  obliquely  in 
parallel  lines  at  intervals  of  six  feet  from  one  end  to  the  other 
over  the  whole  graded  slope.  These  drains  "are  connected  at 
their  upper  ends  with  the  direct  outlet-pipe  leading  from  the 
siphon  chamber.  They  have  an  aggregate  length  of  about  ten 
thousand  feet.  The  method  of  operation  is  as  follows: 

The  capacity  of  the  tank  is  supposed  to  equal  about  two  days' 
discharge,  or  about  thirty-five  hundred  gallons ;  and  the  whole 
capacity  of  the  drains  is  about  half  that  of  the  tank,  so  that  the 
rapid  emptying  of  the  whole  volume  into  them  will  insure  their 
being  pretty  thoroughly  filled  from  end  to  end.  This  arrange- 
ment will  provide  for  the  saturation  of  the  soil  about  once  in 
two  days,  and  will  leave  a  sufficient  interval  between  the  periods 
of  saturation  for  the  thorough  dispersal  and  aeration  of  the  filth. 

The  extent  to  which  this  system  will  be  interfered  with  by  frost, 
it  is  impossible  to  say.  This  will  probably  be  less  than  would 


77 

be  supposed,  for  the  reason  that  the  ground  would  often  be 
covered  with  snow,  and  that  the  sewage  will  have  sufficient 
warmth  to  exert  considerable  thawing  influence.  Whenever 
the  discharge  of  the  liquid  through  irrigation  pipes  is  shown  to 
have  become  obstructed  by  freezing,  it  will  only  be  necessary  to 
divert  the  flow,  and  turn  it  into  the  surface  gutter  to  be  distrib- 
uted over  the  ground. 

It  is  possible  that  in  this  case,  as  in  the  one  which  has  been 
under  my  observation  for  six  years  past,  there  will  be  no  inter- 
ruption of  the  working  because  of  cold ;  but,  should  the  inter- 
ruption become  serious,  I  shall  propose  the  planting  of  ever- 
green trees  in  parallel  rows  midway  between  the  drains.  The 
protection  that  would  thus  be  afforded,  both  by  the  trees  and 
by  the  drifting  snow  which  they  would  gather,  would  probably 
keep  the  ground  free  throughout  the  Winter.  Incidentally  to 
the  chief  advantage  of  this  system,  there  will  be,  so  long  as  the 
land  is  in  grass,  quite  an  addition  to  its  product." 

For  further  information,  see  Col.  Waring^s  Report,  in  the  preceding 
pages. 


Drainage  for  Health. 

Col.  Waring  discusses  fully  the  subject  of  the  disposal  of 
house  wastes  and  protection  of  wells.  The  object  of  this  note 
is  to  impress  a  not  less  important  point,  viz.,  the  duty  of  secur- 
ing such  subsoil  drainage  as  will  insure  dryness  of  the  site  of 
foundation  walls  and  of  the  cellar. 

Lord  Bacon  has  said  :  "  He  who  builds  a  fair  house  upon  an 
ill  seat,  committeth  himself  to  prison." 

As  a  rule,  the  dry  soils,  sand  and  gravel,  are  the  healthiest. 
Coarse  gravel  is  also  the  safest  soil  to  build  upon,  as  it  is  almost 
incompressible  and  makes  a  firm  foundation. 

While  typhoid  fever  and  diphtheria  are  conceded  to  be. gen- 
erated and  their  virulence  increased  by  impure  air  and  water, 
two  other  prevalent  scourges,  consumption  and  fever  and  ague,  are 
caused  by  the  influence  of  stagnant  water  and  excessive  wetness 
of  the  soil ;  and  they  may  be  much  alleviated  by  the  simple 


78 


removal  of  the  drainage  water,  through  exactly  the  same  pro- 
cess that  is  employed  in  farm  drainage. 
We  will  consider  first  the  mode  to  be  adopted  to  secure 

DRYNESS    OF   SITE. 

As  our  space  is  limited,  we  must  ask  the  reader  to  be  content, 
on  many  points,  with  simple  rules  and  directions,  without  dis- 
cussion of  reasons. 

To  drain  a  tract,  large  or  small,  find  an  outlet  low  enough  to 
give  the  necessary  fall — one  foot  in  one  hundred  is  sufficient, 
and  drains  will  work  well  with  but  one-quarter  of  that  fall.  If 
the  fall  is  slight,  the  greater  care  will  be  necessary  in  laying  out 
and  performing  the  work. 

The  work  should  be  all  laid  out  before  breaking  ground. 
Usually  a  single  main  drain  should  run  through  the  lowest  part 
of  the  tract,  and  it  is  not  important  that  the  main  should  be 
straight  as  to  line,  but  there  must  be  no  inequality  in  the  grade. 
Having  laid  out  the  main,  lay  side  drains  running  into  it,  hav- 
ing in  view  two  principles :  First,  to  run  each  drain  up  and 
down  the  slope  of  the  land,  rather  than  across;  and,  second,  to 
have  them  parallel  to  each  other.  Like  most  principles,  we 
shall  be  compelled  often  to  compromise  them.  The  depth 
should  be  four  feet  or  more,  and  the  distance  apart,  with  this 

depth,  may  be  from  thirty  to  fifty 
feet. 

To  open  them,  begin  at  the  outlet, 
so  that  the  water 'may  run  off  as  the 
work  proceeds,  and  with  a  common 
spade  and  pick,  cut  a  trench  by  a 
line,  eighteen  inches  wide  at  the  sur- 
face, narrowing  to  four  inches,  or  the 
width  of  a  laborer's  boot,  at  the  bot- 
tom. To  finish  the  bottom,  a  spade 
four  inches  wide  is  necessary,  and 
may  be  made  by  getting  a  black- 
smith to  cut  down  a  common  long- 
handled  shovel  to  that  width,  no 
wider  at  the  heel  than  the  point.  Common  drain  tiles  are 
recommended,  and  the  directions  given  are  specially  adapted  to 
their  use. 


FIG.  1. — PROPER  SHAPE  FOR  A 
TRENCH. 


79 

The  drains  being  thus  opened,  we  begin  to  lay  the  tiles  at  the 
upper  end.  Lay  the  first  tile  (usually  of  two-inch  size)  with  a 
brick  or  flat  stone  over  the  upper  end,  to  close  it  entirely,  and 
the  next  end  to  end  with  it,  and  so  on  to  the  main,  keeping 
always  an  inclination,  however  slight,  for  if  any  depression  is 
made,  the  silt  will  lodge  in  it  and  obstruct  the  work. 

Here  let  this  idea  be  fully  impressed :  In  this  system  of 
drainage  no  water  is  to  be  anywhere  admitted  except  by  perco- 
lation through  the  soil.  There  is  to  be  no  opening  to  the  sur- 
face, or  into  any  ditch,  or  to  receive  sink-water,  or  anything  but 
clear  water  creeping  underground. 

But  how  does  the  water  get  in?  Chiefly  at  the  joints,  which 
are  as  close  as  two  rough  bricks  laid  end  to  end  would  be. 
Nothing  short  of  cementing  the  joints  can  keep  the  water  out. 
The  great  difficulty  is  to  keep  out  silt  or  fine  sand. 

Having  laid  two  or  three  tiles  on  the  bare  earth,  if  hard  (and 
on  pieces  of  laths  or  other  thin  wood,  if  soft),  cover  each  joint 
half  or  more  round  the  tiles  with  a  piece  of  tarred  paper  as  large 
as  a  common  letter  envelope,  and,  holding  the  whole  firmly, 
place  soil  or  gravel  over  it  and  on  both  sides  of  the  tiles,  press- 
ing it  enough  to  keep  them  in  place.  However  tempted  to  do 
so,  put  no  stones  nor  straw  nor  shavings  into  the  drain.  Cover 
and  fill  up  with  anything  at  hand  except  soft  clay,  fine  sand  or 
sods,  which  should  not  be  placed  in  contact  with  the  tiles. 

When  we  approach  the  junction  of  the  minor  drain  with  the 
main,  a  curve  should  be  made,  so  as  not  to  bring  in  the  side 
stream  at  right  angles.  Branch  tiles  may  be  found  made  for 
the  purpose  of  junction,  and  these  are  much  better  than  any 
home  contrivances.  The  last  few  feet  of  the  main  should  be  of 
vitrified  pipe,  with  cemented  joints. 

Having  thus  connected  the  drains  in  one  system  with  only 
one  outlet,  this  should  be  so  secured  by  a  wire  grating  that  no 
frog  or  other  creeping  thing  can  explore  it,  and  it  should  be 
built  up  solid  with  stone,  so  as  to  be  permanent,  and  should 
have  a  clean  fall  of  a  few  inches  upon  a  flat  stone,  that  it  may 
not  be  obstructed  by  back-water  and  mud. 

The  above  instructions,  if  followed,  will  insure  a  dry  site, 
but  in  the  case  of  particularly  springy  ground,  or  where  a  house 
is  situated  on  a  side  hill,  it  may  be  well  to  drain  the  cellar  itself. 


80 

This  may  be  done  by  digging  a  trench  as  above  directed,  in  the 
cellar,  as  close  to  the  wall  as  it  can  safely  be  dug,  and  to  a 
depth  six  inches  below  the  bottom  of  the  foundation.  The  bot- 
tom of  this  trench  should  have  a  slight  but  regular  fall  toward 
the  point  where  the  pipe  can  most  conveniently  be  carried 
under  the  foundation  to  an  outlet  built  as  above  directed,  and 


FIG.  2. — OUTLET. 

the  last  few  feet  will  be  best  constructed  of  vitrified  pipe,  with 
tightly  cemented  joints,  in  order  to  make  a  lasting  job. 

Under  no  circumstances  should  these  pipes  be  connected  with 
the  sewer  pipes  or  cesspools.  ;„'? 

By  this  simple  method  damp  walls  and  cellars  may  be 
entirely  cured  at  a  small  expense  for  material  and  about  a 
day's  labor  of  a  couple  of  careful  men. 

The  directions  given  above  for  laying  the  pipes  and  filling 
the  trench  should  be  exactly  followed. 

It  has  been  scientifically  demonstrated  that  damp  sites,  and 
particularly  damp  cellars  aggravate  and  to  a  large  extent  pro- 
duce consumption  and  malarial  disorders.  It  is  a  fact  that 
where  the  drainage  of  building  sites  and  of  cellars  has  been 
attended  to,  deaths  from  consumption  have  fallen  off  fifty  per 
cent. 

Which  are  of  greater  value ,  the  few  dollars  it  will  cost  to 


81 

make  our  homes  healthy,  or  the  life  and  health  of  our  wives 
and  little  ones? 

Which  will  cost  less,  to  spend  a  few  dollars  in  prevention,  or 
many  dollars  in  the  cure  or  attempt  to  cure  disease? 

[Condensed  from  the  Fourth  Annual  Report  of  the  State  Board  of 
Health  of  Massachusetts. 


Filtering-  Cisterns. 

As  there  may  be  some  of  our  members  who  propose  con- 
structing cisterns  for  retaining  their  supply  of  drinking  water, 
the  following  description  and  illustration  from  "  The  Sanitary 
Engineer  "  for  November  1st,  1880,  are  given : 

"The  best  material  for  rain  water  cisterns  is  brick,  laid  in 
hydraulic  cement  and  plastered  inside.  No  lime  should  be 
used  for  the  plastering,  but  a  mortar  made  of  equal  parts  of 
cement  and  good,  clean,  sharp  sand.  This  is  rarely  found  clean 
enough  to  be  used  without  first  washing  it.  After  the  plaster- 
ing is  hard,  it  should  be  washed  twice  with  a  grout  of  cement 
and  water,«without  sand,  applied  with  a  white-wash  brush.  If 
the  ground  is  firm,  and  stands  plumb  without  caving  in,  one 
layer  of  brick  laid  directly  against  the  side  of  the  pit  is  enough. 
In  this  case  the  form  of  the  pit  should  be  carefully  trimmed  to 
a  true  circle,  and  the  walls  trimmed  plumb.  Then  the  brick 
work  can  be  laid  directly  against  it,  filling  all  small  cavities 
between  the  brick  and  ground  with  cement,  and  not  with  earth. 
If  the  ground  is  not  firm  enough  to  stand  in  this  way,  a  thicker 
wall  will  be  needed,  say  eight  inches.  The  earth  that  is  filled 
around  it  should  be  puddled  in  with  plenty  of  water,  to  ensure 
a  solid  packing.  Ramming  the  earth  without  puddling  is  not 
so  good,  and  will  not  be  likely  to  prevent  the  cistern  from  burst- 
ing when  first  filled  with  water.  A  very  small  crack  will  spoil 
it.  The  floor  can  be  laid  after  the  walls  are  plastered,  so  as  to 
avoid  stepping  on  it  much  after  laying  it.  The  floor  should  be 
dished  like  a  saucer,  to  facilitate  cleaning  out. 
6 


82 

"  For  filtering,  build  a  partition  in  the  cistern  by  which  any 
portion,  say  one-fourth,  of  its  contents  can  be  separated  from 
the  remainder.  Insert  the  suction  pipe  or  pump  within  this 
chamber,  and  allow  the  inlets  to  discharge  outside  of  it  in  the 
larger  part  of  the  cistern.  If  the  partition  is  built  of  one  thick- 


ness of  soft,  porous  brick5  the  water  will  soak  through  it ;  but 
this  brick  partition  should  be  domed  over  against  the  side  walls 
to  prevent  any  pollution  of  the  filtered  water  by  dust  or  spat- 
terings  from  above.  If  the  water  is  quite  foul,  the  pores  of  the 
bricks  will  be  choked  in  time,  and  refuse  to  pass  more  water. 
In  that  case  the  partition  must  be  renewed,  or  holes  made  near 
the  bottom,  in  which  sponges,  broken  charcoal  or  sand  can  be 
placed  to  do  the  work ;  and  these  can  be  renewed  when  found 
necessary. 

"  If  gravel  and  charcoal  are  used,  they  are  deposited  in  layers, 
charcoal  at  bottom,  and  a  few  inches  of  gravel  on  top,  each  side 
the  filtering  wall  at  A  A  [see  cut],  and  confined  by  dwarf  walls 
on  each  side.  Holes  are  left  in  the  base  of  the  filtering  wall  by 
omitting  alternate  bricks  in  the  bottom  course.  The  water  is 
then  filtered  by  passing  down  through  one  bed  of  charcoal  and 
up  through  the  other.  The  gravel  is  chiefly  useful  to  put  on 
top  of  the  charcoal  to  protect  it  from  wash. 

"This  charcoal  will  need  frequent  renewal  if  there  is  much 
solid  matter  in  the  water.  Hence  two  cisterns  are  convenient." 


83 

Two  other  illustrations  are  given,  showing  a  somewhat  differ- 
ent construction.    These  are  taken  from  "Wood's  Household 


Practice,"  a  valuable  work  on  hygiene.     They  explain  them- 
selves sufficiently  without  need  of  description. 


Heating  and  Ventilation. 

The  object  of  this  note  is  to  explain  in  a  simple  way  how  we 
may  keep  our  houses  comfortably  warm  in  Winter,  and  yet  not 
compel  ourselves  to  breathe  over  and  over  again  air  which  has 
become  dirty  and  foul  from  washing  out  our  lungs  and  contact 
with  our  bodies. 

Col.  Waring  has  entered  a  plea  for  "  a  pure  soil "  and  "  pure 
water;"  now,  pray  heed  Hippocrates  once  more,  and  be  sure 
you  have  an  ample  supply  of  pure,  life-giving  air  in  your 
dwellings. 

Dr.  Hamilton  Osgood,  in  his  admirable  little  book  on  "  Win- 
ter and  its  Dangers,"  says :  "  Human  beings,  as  well  as  fish,  live, 
move  and  have  their  being  in  a  fluid.  That  in  which  we  find 
fish  is  visible,  and  its  slightest  impurity  noticeable.  Not  so  the 
fluid  in  which  we  live.  It  is  invisible,  and,  in  a  general  sense, 


84 

so  are  its  impurities.  Eyes  being  of  no  use  here,  the  sense  of 
smell,  if  properly  regarded,  will  be  our  protector.  When  the 
air  of  our  rooms  is  foul,  when  drains  are  imperfect,  when  any 
impure  thing  taints  the  atmosphere,  the  sense  of  smell  gives  us 
warnings  which  should  be  religiously  regarded  and  never  neg- 
lected. 

"  The  air  in  which  we  live,  and  which  we  inhale,  is  composed, 
when  normally  pure,  of  eighty  parts  nitrogen,  about  twenty 
parts  of  oxygen,  and  a  small  quantity  of  carbonic  acid,  say 
about  four-hundredths  of  one  per  cent.  When  absolutely  pure, 
the  air,  of  course,  is  absolutely  free  from  this  poisonous  element. 
Our  health  depends  upon  keeping  up  the  twenty  per  cent,  of 
oxygen  and  keeping  down  the  carbonic  acid  to  its  lowest  possi- 
ble minimum.  An  increase  of  this  gas  to  five  or  ten  per  cent, 
would  be  fatal  to  life. 

"When  the  blood  leaves  the  lungs,  it  is  in  the  condition  called 
arterial — that  is,  it  has  been  purified  by  the  air,  or  aerified. 
And  the  name  artery  originated  in  the  fact  that,  until  the  time 
of  Galen,  in  the  second  century  of  our  era,  the  blood-vessels 
leading  from  the  lungs  and  heart  were  supposed  to  convey  air 
directly  from  the  windpipe,  and  air  only,  because  after  death 
they  are  always  found  empty.  It  was  thought  that  the  veins, 
the  vessels  which  bring  the  blood  back  to  the  heart  and  lungs, 
were  the  only  channels  of  the  blood,  for  after  death  they  were 
always  found  full. 

"The  blood  carries  myriads  of  small  bodies. called  blood-cor- 
puscles, which,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  white  ones,  existing 
in  the  proportion  of  about  four  to  one  thousand  of  the  red,  have 
a  color  which  is  bright  red  when  the  blood  is  pure  or  arterial, 
purplish  or  dark  crimson  when  the  blood  is  impure  or  venus. 
These  bodies  have  aptly  been  compared  to  boats.  When  the 
blood  leaves  the  lungs,  these  boats  carry  a  mixed  cargo,  an 
important  portion  of  which  is  oxygen.  This  they  discharge  as 
they  pass  through  the  canals  of  the  body,  some  stopping  here, 
some  there ;  but  they  always  exchange  it  for  an  equal  load  of 
carbonic  acid.  This  carbonic  acid  changes  the  color  of  these 
dainty  boats  from  dark  to  bright  red.  When  they  reach  the 
lungs  again,  they  expect  to  find  a  new  cargo  of  oxygen,  and 
likewise  to  become  purified  and  restored  to  their  original 


85 

brightness.  Consequently,  when  the  air  inhaled  by  the  lungs 
is  once  in  the  air-cells,  which  cluster  about  the  finer  bronchial 
tubes  like  grapes  upon  their  stems,  the  pure  air  finds  a  quantity 
of  carbonic  acid  which  has  been  brought  by  the  boats  that  have 
just  arrived  from  the  rivers  and  canals  of  the  body. 

"  By  a  wonderful  process  of  which  gases  are  capable,  the  car- 
bonic acid  from  the  boats  and  the  oxygen  from  the  inspired  air 
both  pass  through  two  exquisitely  delicate  walls  which  separate 
the  blood  in  the  vessels  from  the  air  in  the  air-cells  of  the  lungs, 
and  exchange  places — the  air  in  the  lungs  take  the  carbonic 
acid  from  the  impure  blood,  and  becoming  itself  impure;  the 
blood-corpuscles,  or  the  boats,  taking  the  oxygen  from  the  pure 
air  (if  only  it  be  pure),  and  thus  becoming  purified.  Where  this 
latter  takes  place,  the  air-cells  lie  in  a  perfect  mesh  of  the  most 
delicate  vessels  conceivable.  The  walls  of  each  are  so  exceed- 
ingly thin  that  the  transfusion  or  passage  through  them  of  the 
two  gases  is  made  possible.  But  for  this  delicacy  of  construction? 
the  exchange  could  not  take  place.  The  freshly-laden  boats  now 
start  on  a  new  trip,  their  places  being  instantly  taken  by  others. 
The  impure  air  is  exhaled,  and  the  new  inspiration  sends  fresh 
air  to  the  air-cells  and  the  waiting  boats.  And  so  this  wonder- 
ful process  of  exchange  goes  on  day  and  night,  whether  we  are. 
sleeping  or  waking."  £  />  • 

"  It  is  undoubted,"  says  the  same  author,  "  that  affections  of 
the  lungs,  notably  consumption,  find  their  origin  in  inhaled  air 
which  is  laden  with  organic  vapors  and  particles  arising  from 
the  human  body."  He  also  attributes  bronchial  aifections, 
"  colds,"  lassitude,  head-aches  and  general  dibility  largely  to 
the  breathing  of  impure  air. 

"  Think,  too,"  he  continues  "  of  the  air  of  church,  theater 
and  crowded  parlor.  Go  into  such  from  the  fresh  air  an  hour 
after  the  company  has  assembled.  How  heavy  the  air  with 
personal  effluvia  and  rebreathed  breath.  Pah !  these  delicate 
women  have  no  thought  of  what  they  are  doing.  Offer  such  an 
one  a  cup  of  ditch  water ;  would  she  drink  it  ?  Would  she 
drink  it  if  it  contained  even  a  speck  ?  No.  And  yet  think  of 
it:  in  unventilated  rooms  and  crowded  assemblies,  we  inhale 
dirty  air — air  which  has  washed  out  other  lungs  than  ours,  some 
of  them  probably  in  a  state  of  disease !  Such  air  contains  per- 


86 

sonal  impurities,  particles  from  the  lungs,  uncleanly  odors. 
Such  air  drawn  into  sensitive  lungs — lungs  which  are  only 
waiting  to  spring  into  inflamed  conditions — creates  disease." 
*  *  *  *  «  QO(J  gives  us  pure  airt  is  it  not  a  sin  and  a  shame 
that  we  do  not  keep  it  pure?  Think,  too,  of  the  sick,  of  the 
delicate,  of  the  children  who  are  confined  to  the  house.  They 
are  mainly  helpless.  For  their  pure  air  they  are  dependent 
upon  the  foresight  of  others,  and  it  is  just  as  cruel  to  keep  it 
from  them  as  it  would  be  to  deny  them  food,  and  almost  as  dan- 
gerous. Their  lives  depend  upon  it.  They  die  for  want  of  it" 

One  other  quotation,  and  then  we  are  done :  "  It  is  a  very 
common  belief  that  night  air  is  unhealthful ;  but,  as  Florence 
Nightingale  sensibly  remarks,  '  we  must  breathe  night  air  at 
night;'  and  she  might  have  added:  if  pure  night  air  is  shut 
out,  then  we  breathe  foul  night  air."  *  *  *  *  "  Statistics  show 
that  where  war  has  slain  its  thousands,  bad  night  air  has  slain 
its  tens  of  thousands ;  then  do  not  fear,  but  welcome  the  pure 
air  of  night." 

"  Better  is  it,"  says  a  wise  writer,  "  to  spend  money  on  a  sup- 
ply of  pure  air  than  on  carven  work  and  orations." 

How  to  obtain  this  supply  of  pure  air  in  the  Winter  months, 
without  producing  draughts  and  without  causing  an  undue 
waste  of  fuel,  I  now  propose  to  state  in  a  few  plain  words. 
Those  who  desire  to  study  the  subject  more  fully,  I  refer  to  the 
series  of  articles  on  the  subject  in  "  The  Sanitary  Engineer,"  by 
Dr.  John  S.  Billings,  U.  S.  A. 

Most  country-houses — and  to  those,  these  rem'arks  are  intended 
more  particularly  to  apply — are  provided  with  ample  fire-places. 
Let  the  first  step  taken  be  to  open  these,  substituting  for  the 
tight  fire-board  either  such  screens  as  are  used  in  windows  in 
the  Summer  time ;  or,  better  yet,  let  the  andirons  be  polished 
and  placed  on  the  hearth  as  in  "  ye  olden  time."  You  now 
have  provided  a  means  of  escape  for  the  foul  air  which  is  con- 
stantly entering  the  room  from  lungs  and  lamps  and  emanations 
from  your  bodies. 

Now,  it  is  necessary  to  replace  this  bad  air  which  you  have 
sent  up  the  chimney,  with  "  good,  pure  country  air."  This  may 
be  done,  of  course,  by  opening  windows  or  doors,  but  we  all 
know  that  in  the  cold  Winter  time  this  would  be,  to  say  the 


87 


least,  very  uncomfortable.  The  cheapest  and  simplest  way  to 
introduce  pure  air  without  causing  draughts,  is  to  provide  sev- 
eral strips  of  wood  one-third  of  an  inch  thick,  of  various  widths, 
from  two  to  six  inches,  and  long  enough  to  fit  the  window-frame 
under  the  lower  sash.  The  latter  is  then  raised,  and  the  strip 
inserted  under  it,  thus  closing  the  aperture.  There  will,  in  this 
way,  be  left  between  the  upper  and  lower  sash  a  space  where 
air  can  enter,  which  may  vary  in  size  with  the  weather,  accord- 
ing to  the  thickness  of  the  strip  used.  The  air  coming  through 
this  space  is  deflected  toward  the  ceiling  by  the  lower  sash,  and 
thus  enters  the  room  without  any  danger  of  causing  a  draught 
or  otherwise  annoying  the  occupants.  [Fig,  1.] 


\ 


FTG.  1. 

The  method  just  described  will  be  useful  at  all  seasons,  when 
it  is  necessary  to  keep  windows  and  doors  closed,  especially  in 
stormy  weather  in  Spring,  Summer  and  Fall,  and  in  the  cool, 
Fall  evenings  before  the  fire  is  started. 

The  following  suggestions  from  an  article  by  Rev.  Daniel  C. 
Jacokes,  in  "  Carpentry  and  Building,"  for  November,  1880,  are 
admirably  adapted  for  houses  mostly  heated  by  stoves  and  not 
provided  with  open  fire-places  : 

"  During  cold  weather,  ventilation  should  be  produced  by  the 
aid  of  heat.  The  following  rules  should  be  carefully  observed 
in  heating  and  ventilating : 


88 

"  1.  Conduct,  in  some  convenient  manner,  out-door  air  against 
a  heated  surface. 

"  2.  Conduct  the  in-door  air  from  the  floor  into  a  heated  flue. 
In  this  manner  a  complete  circulation  of  air  may  be  had,  and 
an  abundant  supply  of  pure  warm  air  may  be  secured ;  pro- 


FIG.  2. 


vided,  first,  that  the  ducts  be  sufficiently  large;  and,  second, 
that  the  dust  in  the  air  be  not  burned  by  a  red-hot  surface.  If 
these  rules  are  observed,  the  heating  and  ventilating  will  be 
very  economical  and  satisfactory.  Most  of  the  buildings,  pub- 


89 

lie  and  private,  for  human  use  are  constructed  without  any 
reference  to  ventilation;  indeed,  most  of  them  seem  to  have 
been  planned  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  either  the  light  of 
the  sun  or  the  pure  air  of  heaven  entering  them.  There  is,  con- 
sequently, much  difficulty  in  properly  heating  or  ventilating 
them.  Those  who  prefer  health  to  the  sight  of  the  changes 
necessary  in  each  case  to  secure  such  an  end,  must  not  object 
to  see  an  additional  pipe  to  convey  foul  air  out  of  the  room,  and, 
also,  a  pipe  to  convey  the  pure  outdoor  air  into  it. 

"  There  are  many  buildings  heated  by  a  furnace.  In  these 
the  pure  outdoor  air  is  properly  heated ;  but  where  there  is  no 
preparation  for  ventilation,  this  may  be  secured  in  the  same 
manner  as  when  heated  by  a  stove. 

"  The  great  majority  of  houses  are  heated  by  stoves.  The  out- 
door air  in  such  cases  must  be  conducted  to  the  surface  of  the 
stove,  as  illustrated  by  the  following  diagrams.  These  stoves 
have  various  shapes ;  whatever  they  may  be,  the  principles  will 
here  be  explained,  so  that  any  person  may  modify  the  method 
so  as  to  secure  the  result  desired.  Fig.  2  shows  how  a  sheet-iron 
jacket  may  be  fitted  to  the  back  of  a  stove  for  heating  the  out- 
door air  brought  within  the  jacket  against  the  stove.  The  jacket 
is  seen  at  the  top  of  the  stove,  and  is  represented  by  the  line 
marked  D.  The  jacket  should  never  be  more  than  4?  inches 
from  the  back  of  the  stove,  and.  should  always  be  closed  at  the 
bottom,  so  that  the  air  in  the  room  will  never  be  reheated  and 
breathed  over  and  over  again.  This  should  be  remembered, 
whatever  kind  or  form  of  jacket  is  used. 

"  Fig.  3  illustrates  the  manner  of  conducting  the  outdoor  air  to 
the  stove  within  the  jacket  for  heating. 

"A  wood  stove  may  be  jacketed  in  the  same  manner  as  a  coal 
stove.  In  this  case  the  jacket  may  be  fitted  to  the  sides  of  the 
stove  very  nicely,  covering  the  back  of  the  stove  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  coal  stove,  so  that  the  sheet-iron  jacket  will  be 
at  an  average  distance  of  4?  inches  from  the  back;  never  more 
than  this. 

"Outdoor  air  may" also  be  heated  by  conducting  it  within  a 
jacket  around  the  stove-pipe  of  a  wood  or  coal  stove,  as  shown 
in  section  in  Fig.  4. 

"  In  school-houses,  where  box  stoves  are  mostly  used,  a  sheet- 


90 

iron  jacket  may  inclose  the  stove  excepting  the  front,  which 
should  be  left  open  for  the  escape  of  the  heated  air.  The  space 
between  the  stove  and  jacket  should  be  4  inches — not  more — on 
the  sides  and  top ;  on  the  back  the  jacket  may  be  as  wide  as  the 
hole  in  the  floor — 6  inches.  An  opening  should  be  made 
through  the  floor  at  the  back  end  of  the  stove  near  the  jacket, 
6  by  16  inches,  if  the  jacket  is  wide  enough  to  cover  it.  A  pipe, 


FIG.  3. 


the  shape  of  the  hole,  should  be  fitted  so  as  to  reach  a  little 
above  the  bottom  of  the  stove,  that  the  air  may  reach  the  heated 
surface  at  once.  Fig.  3  snows  this  arrangement. 

"Ventilation,  according  to  rule  second,  should  always  convey 
the  indoor  air  from  the  floor  into  a  heated  flue.  If  the  chimney 
is  properly  constructed,  this  may  be  done  with  little  expense  or 
trouble.  Usually,  however,  this  is  not  the  case.  The  general 
rule  is  to  build  chimneys  very  small — mostly  4  by  12  or  16 


91 

» 

inches  on  the  inside.  This  narrow  space  will  soon  be  more  or 
less  filled  with  soot.  In  such  cases  ventilation  will  be  difficult, 
if  not  impossible.  If  the  chimney  has  been  constructed  with 
an  apartment  for  ventilation,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  make  an 
opening  into  it  at  the  floor— that  is,  the  bottom  of  the  opening 


FIG.  4. 


must  in  all  cases  be  exactly  even  with  the  top  of  the  floor, 
otherwise  the  ventilation  will  be  imperfect ;  this  will  give  good 
ventilation.  All  chimneys  should  be  constructed  with  an  apart- 
ment for  each  story,  as  shown  in  Fig,  5,  and  should  be  plastered 
smooth ;  the  partition  should  be  made  of  brick,  and  built  single 


92 

width,  so  that  it  will  be  four  inches  thick.  This  wall  will  be 
constantly  heated  to  keep  a  continual  draft  in  the  ventilating 
flue. 

"  If  a  chimney  is  sufficiently  large,  a  7  or  8-inch  stove-pipe — 
or  larger,  if  possible — may  be  let  down  inside  of  the  chimney 
and  turned  into  the  room  at  the  floor  by  an  elbow ;  this  will 
make  an  efficient  ventilator.  If  there  is  not  sufficient  room,  or 
if  for  any  other  cause,  as  a  crooked  chimney,  this  cannot  be 
done,  ventilation  may  be  effected  as  illustrated  in  Fig.  6.  Take 
a  pipe  one  inch  smaller  in  diameter  than  the  supply  pipe  which 
is  to  conduct  the  outdoor  air  to  the  stove,  and  carry  it  into  the 
chimney — if  possible,  below  the  entrance  of  the  smoke-pipe. 
This  plan  can  be  adopted  more  frequently  and  at  less  cost  than 
any  other,  as  chimneys  are  generally  constructed. 


FIG.  5. — CONSTRUCTION  OP  CHIMNEY  FOR  BOTH  SMOKE  AND  VENTILATION. 
D,  SMOKE  FLUE.  A,  VENTILATION  FLUE  FOR  FIRST  STORY.  B,  VENTILA- 
TION FLUE  FOR  SECOND  STORY.  C,  VENTILATION  FLUE*FOR  THIRD  STORY. 

"  In  many  houses  the  chimney  is  so  constructed  or  situated 
that  the  ventilation  would  not  be  equal  to  the  work  required. 
Such  an  instance  would  be  when  the  chimney  is  short,  the  bot- 
tom being  near  the  ceiling  in  the  upper  story,  with  a  stove  in 
each  story  connected  with  it.  In  such  cases  ventilation  would 
be  hardly  possible.  To  remedy  this  the  following  plan  may  be 
adopted :  The  stove-pipe  in  the  second  story  may  be  surrounded 
by  a  much  larger  pipe ;  a  6-inch  pipe  may  be  surrounded  by  a 
10-inch  pipe;  a  7-inch  by  a  12-inch  jacket  pipe,  and  the  ventil- 
ator may  be  connected  with  this  surrounding  jacket.  The  stove- 
pipe and  the  jacket  are  both  to  be  carried  into  the  chimney  as 


93 

one  pipe ;  the  stove-pipe  within  will  so  heat  the  surrounding  air 
that  a  strong  ventilation  will  be  the  result.  The  ventilator 
should  enter  the  jacket  at  or  near  its  bottom,  as  seen  in  Fig.  7. 

"  This  plan,  as  well  as  the  others  recommended,  will  secure 
good  heating  and  ventilation  at  a  very  moderate  cost.     I  have 


FIG.  6. — A  METHOD  OF  VENTILATION  WHERE  PROPER  FLUES  HAVE  NOT  BEEN  , 
PROVIDED.   S,  STOVE  PIPE.   V,  VENTILATOR  PIPE,  6  INCHES  DIAMETER, 
AND  OPEN  NEAR  FLOOR.   B,  SUPPLY  OF  OUTDOOR  AIR.   P,  SUPPLY  PIPE 

(OVAL  IN  SECTIONS).     J,  JACKET  OF  STOVE. 


FIG.  7. — METHOD  OF  VENTILATION  WHERE  FLUE  OPENING  IS  IN  SECOND 
STORY.  B,  SUPPLY  OF  OUTSIDE  AIR.  V,  VENTILATING  PIPE.  S,  STOVE 
PIPE.  J,  JACKET  TO  STOVE.  D,  DRUM,  LOCATED  IN  SECOND  STORY.  X, 
JACKET  TO  STOVE-PIPE,  BY  WHICH  THE  AIR  WITHDRAWN  FROM  LOWER 
ROOM  IS  SOMEWHAT  HEATED  BEFORE  ENTERING  CHIMNEY  FLUE. 


95 

known  it  to  cost  from  ten  shillings  in  the  simpler  forms  to  ten 
dollars  by  the  more  complicated  forms ;  so  that  healthy  and 
comfortable  homes  may  be  enjoyed  by  the  poor  as  well  as  by 
the  more  favored  of  our  fellow-citizens. 

"  The  ventilation  of  churches,  schools  and  other  public  build- 
ings where  large  numbers  of  persons  assemble,  is  of  the  highest 
importance.  The  general  practice  is  to  construct  very  small 
chimneys,  which  renders  it  difficult  to  secure  efficient  ventila- 
tion. In  all  these  cases  it  would  be  better  to  reconstruct  them, 
making  them,  say,  16  by  36  inches  inside,  dividing  the  space 
into  two  or  more  apartments,  if  there  is  one  story  to  be  warmed, 
or  into  three  if  two  stories — one  for  the  smoke,  the  others  for 
ventilation — with  an  opening  into  each  ventilating  flue,  always 
at  the  floor.  One  church  has  a  chimney  16  by  36  inches  inside, 
divided  by  putting  a  16-inch  pipe  of  heavy  sheet  iron  so  as  to 
make  the  side  flues  of  equal  size ;  the  pipe  is  fitted  close  to  the 
brick  wall  to  secure  it  to  its  place.  This  is  the  smoke-pipe,  and 
it  warms  the  air  almost  instantly  in  the  foul-air  flues  at  its  sides, 
making  a  very  powerful  ventilator.  This  church  has  a  base- 
ment story,  and  needs  two  flues,  one  for  each  room.  If  this 
pipe  should  ever  be  destroyed,  another  can  be  slipped  inside  of 
it  and  thus  renewed.  In  public  buildings  which  are  heated  at 
intervals  this  sheet-iron  pipe  is  the  best,  as  it  heats  the  air  on 
each  side  at  once.  In  a  building  constantly  heated  the  best 
way  would  be  to  build  the  partitions  in  the  chimney  with 
brick.  The  flues  should  always  be  plastered  smooth.  When 
this  cannot  be  done,  the  ventilation  must  be  made  in  the  same 
manner  as  for  dwelling-houses,  the  ventilating  pipes  being  cor- 
respondingly large. 

"  In  another  church  a  jacket  pipe  16  inches  in  diameter  was 
put  around  a  stove-pipe  7  inches  in  diameter,  connected  with  a 
stove — all  in  the  room  below — and  carried  into  the  chimney. 
The  end  of  the  jacket  opposite  to  the  chimney  was  turned  up 
through  the  floor  by  an  elbow  to  receive  the  foul  air  of  the  room 
above  and  discharge  it  into  the  chimney.  The  7-inch  pipe 
enters  the  16-inch  pipe  about  four  feet  from  the  end  furthest 
from  the  chimney,  and  passes  through  it  to  the  chimney.  A 
fire  in  the  stove  below  will  warm  the  foul  air  in  the  large  pipe, 
and  thus  carry  it  away  into  the  chimney.  This  fire  must  be 


96 

made  as  soon  as  that  made  in  the  furnace  or  other  heating 
apparatus,  and  continued  as  long.  This  church  is  finely  heated 
and  ventilated.  [See  Fig.  8.] 

"Another  church,  which  is  heated  by  a  furnace,  is  ventilated 
in  the  following  manner:  It  has  a  chimney  16  by  36  inches 
inside ;  to  secure  good  ventilation  a  hole  is  made  through  the 
floor  near  the  chimney  16  by  20  inches  inside ;  a  tube  is  fitted 
into  this,  and  reaches  down  into  the  room  below,  near  an  open- 
ing made  into  the  chimney ;  an  elbow  connects  the  tube  with 


PIG.  8. — A  METHOD  OP  VENTILATING  CHURCHES.  THE  PIPE  OF  A  STOVE  IN 
THE  BASEMENT  IS  JACKETED  THROUGHOUT  ITS  HORIZONTAL  LENGTH,  THUS 
INDUCING  A  DRAFT  FROM  THE  OPENING  IN  THE  FLOOR  ABOVE  CONNECTED 
WITH  IT.  S,  STOVE-PIPE.  J,  JACKET  AROUND  STOVE-PIPE. 

the  chimney ;  the  foul  air  from  the  room  above  passes  through 
this  tube  into  the  chimney  below,  and  this  ventilates  the 
church,  giving  it  pure  warm  air.  The  opening  into  the  chimney 
is  made  below  the  entrance  of  the  smoke-pipe  from  the  fur- 
nace, so  that  the  smoke  does  not  enter  the  ventilating  tube. 
[See  Fig.  9.] 

"  In  all  these  illustrations  the  two  rules  given  have  been 
observed,  and  may  be  applied  in  many  other  forms  :  First,  con- 


97 

duct  the  outdoor  air  against  a  heated  surface ;  second,  conduct 
the  foul  air  in  the  room  from  the  floor  into  a  heated  flue,  and 
good  heating  and  ventilating  will  be  secured." 

The  introduction  of  fresh  air  and  removal  of  foul  air  simul- 
taneously is  Accomplished  in  an  almost  perfect  manner  by  the 
stove  illustrated  in  Fig.  10.  It  has  a  large  drum  above  the  fire,  sur- 
rounded by  a  jacket,  so  arranged  that  a  constant  supply  of  fresh 
air  may  be  brought  into  contact  with  greatly -expanded  surfaces, 
which  absorb  the  maximum  quantity  of  heat,  and  impart  it 


FIG.  9. — VENTILATING  A  CHURCH  BY  CONNECTING  AN  OPENING  IN  THE  FLOOR 
WITH  THE  MAIN  CHIMNEY  FLUE,  MAKING  THE  CONNECTION  BELOW  THE 
ENTRANCE  OF  THE  FURNACE-PIPE.  A,  CHIMNEY  FLUE.  B,  VENTILATION 
TUBE.  C,  POSITION  OF  FURNACE-PIPE. 

rapidly  to  the  in-flowing  currents — thus  preventing  over-heat- 
ing, and  at  the  same  time  supplying  the  room  with  an  abundant, 
genial  and  invigorating  atmosphere.  It  will  be  observed  that 
two  distinct  currents  pass  through  the  stove.  One  enters  beneath 
the  grate,  ascends  to  the  chamber  above,  passes  over  the  dia- 
phragm therein,  and  thence  goes  to  the  chimney,  furnishing  the 
draft.  The  other  enters  under  the  stove,  and  becomes  heated 
by  contact  with  the  hot  surfaces,  and  rises  through  the  jacket, 
thus  compelling  a  constant  circulation  through  the  latter.  The 
7 


98 

fire  is  entirely  open,  so  that  a  large  supply  of  additional  heat  is 
radiated  therefrom.     The  construction,  evidently,  is  such  that 


FIG.    10. 


there  is  no  opportunity  for  leakage  of  the  deadly  carbonic  acid 
gas;  nor  is  there  any  contact  of  highly-heated  plates  with^the 
air  of  the  room  to  generate  carbonic  oxide. 


99 

By  its  use  the  entire  atmosphere  of  any  room  may  be  replaced 
every  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  with  a  supply  of  invigorating, 
refreshing  out-door  air,  moderately  warmed,  and  not  dried, 
parched  and  devitalized;  and  the  air  supplied  for  breathing 
may  be  rendered  as  pure  and  refreshing  as  the  outdoor  Summer 
air. 

And  now  that  we  are  on  the  subject  of  heating,  it  will  be  in 
place  to  warn  householders  against  too  great  heat  and  too  dry 
heat.  Too  much  cannot  be  said  to  impress  on  all  householders 
the  great  value  of  keeping  all  parts  of  the  house — halls,  and 
best  rooms,  and  bed-rooms — as  well  as  the  kitchen  and  living 
rooms,  comfortably  warm.  Many  a  doctor's  bill,  many  a  bad 
cold,  might  be  entirely  prevented  by  attention  to  this  matter. 
It  should  be  safe  for  the  children  to  go  anywhere  in  the  house 
without  danger  of  catching  cold.  If  our  houses  were  moder- 
ately heated  throughout  and  thoroughly  ventilated,  how  much 
better  it  would  be  for  all  concerned,  than  to  overheat  one  or 
two  rooms  in  the  house  and  religiously  exclude  from  them 
God's  pure  air. 

"  Immoderate  use  of  heat  during  the  Winter  is  the  cause  of 
much  illness.  The  effect  upon  the  general  vigor  of  many  hours 
daily  spent  in  overwarm  rooms  is  like  that  of  heat  upon  a  figure 
in  wax.  It  droops,  loses  its  firmness,  and,  little  by  little,  will 
show  absolute  outward  change.  Moreover,  one  of  the  positive 
results  of  hot  air  is,  that  it  paralyzes  the  action  of  the  heart. 
Suppose  you  were  to  put  your  arm  in  a  sling,  and  make  no  use 
of  it  for  three  months;  at  the  end  of  that  time,  what  would  be 
its  condition  ?  It  would  be  weak,  shrunken,  almost  powerless ; 
only  by  a  system  of  careful  exercise  of  weeks  in  duration  could 
its  original  vigor  be  restored. 

"  Now,  when  a  person  indulges  in  too  much  artificial  heat,  this 
is  what  happens  to  the  skin,  and,  through  its  collapse,  also  hap- 
pens to  the  system  at  large.  A  person  leads  a  sedentary  life  in 
hot  rooms.  As  Winter  deepens,  the  cold  grows  more  forbid- 
ding, the  fire  more  seductive.  Fresh  air  is  shut  out,  the  skin 
becomes  less  and  less  able  to  resist  changes  of  temperature. 
When  this  person  does  go  out  of  doors,  no  matter  how  much 
clothing  he  may  wear,  he  suffers ;  and  a  cold  is  almost  sure  to 
result." 


100 

The  danger  from  overheating  will  be  greatly  lessened  if  a  large 
pan  of  water  is  kept  continually  evaporating  over  the  stove  or 
in  the  air-chamber  of  the  furnace.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that, 
as  air  becomes  heated,  its  capacity  to  absorb  moisture  is  greatly 
increased;  and  this  moisture,  which  is  naturally  supplied  in 
Summer,  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  artificially  supply  to  the  arti- 
ficial Summer  we  create  within  our  houses  in  Winter. 

A  safe  rule  wrould  be  to  wear  warmer  clothing  in  Winter,  and 
keep  the  temperature  of  the  rooms  we  live  in  not  higher  than 
68°  Fahrenheit. 

In  all  that  has  been  said  above,  the  requirements  of  ordinary 
country  farm  houses  have  been  kept  in  view,  and  nothing  sug- 
gested which  cannot  be  effected  by  a  little  care  and  forethought 
by  the  head  of  the  household. 

Those  who  can  afford  furnaces,  or  hot  water,  or  steam,  I  refer 
to  other  and  larger  treatises,  only  let  me  add  one  word  of  advice 
to  those  having  these  apparatuses  in  use  or  contemplating  their 
use,  viz. :  Be  sure  the  furnace  is  (1)  large  enough  not  to  over- 
heat the  air,  in  order  to  properly  warm  the  house ;  (2)  be  sure 
there  is  a  large  supply  of  outdoor  air  to  the  air-chamber ;  (3)  be 
sure  there  is  an  evaporating  pan  constantly  filled  in  the  air- 
chamber. 

Those  having  the  ventilation  and  heating  of  the 

SCHOOL- HOUSE 

and  the  church  in  charge,  have  a  grave  responsibility  resting  on 
their  shoulders.  To  them  is  committed  the  cdre  of  others'  lives 
and  health.  The  school  trustees  should  make  it  their  duty  to 
often  visit  the  school-house  and  see  that  the  supply  of  fresh  air 
is  adequate  to  the  wants  of  the  scholars.  In  the  ordinary 
school-houses  in  Ewing,  the  air  should  be  changed  at  least  every 
nine  minutes.  This  can  be  easily  and  safely  accomplished  by 
making  in  the  ceiling  at  least  three  apertures  one  foot  wide  and 
two  feet  long,  carried  through  the  roof,  and  a  foot  or  two  above 
it,  and  fitted  with  an  Emerson  Ventilating  Cowl,  which  is 
intended  to  prevent  a  back  draught.  These  openings  are  to 
remove  the  foul  air.  The  fresh  air  can  then  be  supplied  by 
any  of  the  means  mentioned  above  for  houses.  The  surest 
way,  however,  would  be  by  the  use  of  the  open  stove  with  a 


101 

fresh  air  inlet,  as  illustrated  above.  Whatever  stove  is  used,  it 
should  be  so  placed  that  the  children  need  not  sit  close  to  it,  as 
the  effect,  particularly  of  sitting  with  the  back  to  a  hot  stove,  is 
very  prejudicial  to  health,  resulting  often  in  congestion  of  the 
kidneys  and  other  disorders, 

It  would  be  better  to  have  two  stoves,  with  a  moderate  fire  in 
each,  than  one  large  stove  overheated.  Where  there  is  a  cellar 
beneath  the  building,  it  would  be  better  to  place  these  stoves  in 
it,  supplying  fresh  air  to  them  by  ducts,  and  then  make  as 
many  as  five  openings  in  the  floor,  one  foot  by  two,  through 


EMERSON  VENTILATING  COWL. 

which  the  warmed  air  will  rise  into  the  room.  The  cellar  in  this 
case  should  be  used  for  no  other  purpose  (some  other  place 
being  provided  for  the  coal  and  wood),  and  be  kept  scrupulously 
clean ;  and,  where  wet,  made  dry  by  drainage,  as  shown  in  the 
note  on  "  Drainage  for  Health."  Whatever  method  is  used,  the 
school-room  should  be  provided  with  thermometers,  say  one  in 
each  corner,  which  the  teacher  should  often  consult  to  see  that 
the  temperature  is  never  above  68°  nor  below  64°. 

It  should  be  made  the  duty  of  the  janitor  to  see  that  the 
room  is  thoroughly  aired,  by  having  every  window  and  door 
opened  immediately  after  the  school  is  closed;  and  this  airing 
should  continue  at  least  an  hour.  It  should  be  equally  the 
duty  of  the  janitor  to  have  the  room  warm  and  all  the  shut- 


102 

ters  open,  the  sun  streaming  in,  for  an  hour  before  bchool 
assembles. 

The  above  remarks  have  been  written  with  a  special  view  to 
country  district  school-houses,  and  particularly  those  of  Ewing 
township,  which  consist  of  but  one  room  with  accommodations 
for  about  fifty  pupils,  and  an  average  attendance  of  a  somewhat 
less  number. 

The  editor  will  be  glad,  at  any  time,  to  furnish,  free  of  charge, 
to  any  similar  schools  in  New  Jersey,  plans  and  suggestions  for 
heating  and  ventilating,  where  he  is  given  the  size  of  the  school- 
room (width  and  depth),  and  height  of  ceiling,  the  average 
number  of  the  pupils,  and  the  exposure.  These  suggestions  will 
be  submitted  to  the  best  authorities  on  the  subject,  in  order  that 
the  result  desired  may  be  obtained  at  the  least  expense  and  in 
the  very  best  way  for  the  particular  case  in  point. 

Let  me  impress  on  teachers  that  the  health  of  the  children 
committed  to  their  care  is  of  vastly  greater  concern  than  the 
knowledge  they  may  be  able  to  give  them.  "  Ordinary  attention 
to  these  matters,  if  systematic  and  constant,  will  do  much 
toward  lessening  the  *  murder  of  the  innocents,'  who  so  frequently 
are  the  victims  of  their  thoughtless  elders." — [Revised  by  Carl 
Pfeiffer,  Arch. 


SYNOPSIS  OF  SUCH   LAWS  OF  THE  STATE 

OF   NEW  JERSEY  AS   CONCERN  A 

RURAL   COMMUNITY, 


COMPILED   BY  A.  G.   RICHEY,   ESQ. 


Mode  of  Laying-  out  Public  Roads. 

When  ten  or  more  persons,  being  freeholders,  shall  think  a 
public  road  necessary  in  any  part  of  the  county,  they  may 
apply  to  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  the  county  for  the 
appointment  of  six  surveyors  of  the  highways  to  lay  out  such 
road. 

Ten  days'  notice  of  such  application  must  be  first  given. 

The  surveyors  of  the  highway  are  to  meet,  at  such  time  and 
place  as  the  court  shall  direct,  for  the  purpose  of  laying  out  said 
road. 

Notice  shall  be  given  by  advertisement  of  the  time  and  place 
of  such  meeting. 

The  surveyors  of  the  highway,  when  met  as  aforesaid,  shall 
view  the  premises,  and  may,  if  they  think  necessary,  lay  out 
such  public  road ;  and  they  shall  lay  the  same  as  it  appears  to 
them  to  be  most  for  the  public  and  private  convenience — having 
a  regard  to  the  best  ground  for  a  road  and  the  shortest  distance 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  do  the  least  injury  to  private  property. 

And  they  shall  make  a  return  thereof,  with  a  map  of  the  same, 
with  the  courses  and  distances,  with  the  time  when  the  overseers 
of  the  highway  shall  open  the  same  for  public  use. 

The  said  surveyors  shall  also  make  an  assessment  of  the  dam- 
ages, if  any,  the  owner  of  any  land  (other  than  an  applicant  for 
such  road)  shall  sustain  by  laying  out  the  same,  above  the 
advantages  that  will  accrue  to  the  owner,  which  assessment  they 
must  affix  to  their  return,  which  return,  with  the  assessments, 


104 

shall  be  delivered  to  the  clerk  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of 
the  county,  who  is  required  to  record  the  said  return,  together 
with  the  map  thereof,  in  a  book  to  be  kept  for  that  purpose ; 
and  every  road  so  laid  out  and  recorded  as  aforesaid  shall  be  a 
lawful  highway  from  the  time  appointed  for  opening  the  same. 

That  the  clerk  of  any  Court  of  Common  Pleas  shall  not  record 
the  return  of  the  surveyors  of  the  highway  until  the  expiration 
of  fifteen  days  after  he  shall  have  received  the  same,  so  that 
any  person  being  aggrieved  thereby  may,  within  that  time,  enter 
a  caveat  with  the  said  clerk  against  recording  the  said  return, 
which  shall  operate  as  a  supersedeas  to  further  proceedings  till 
the  next  court. 

At  the  next  court,  the  persons  who  have  filed  the  caveat, 
may  make  application  to  the  court  for  the  appointment  of  six 
of  the  chosen  freeholders  of  the  county  in  which  the  road  shall 
have  been  laid  out. 

And  the  court  will  appoint  them  and  designate  the  time  and 
place  for  their  meeting. 

Notice  of  such  meeting  to  be  given. 

And  the  chosen  freeholders  so  appointed  shall  proceed  to 
view  the  road  so  laid  out. 

And  if  they  or  a  majority  of  them  shall  believe  such  laying 
necessary  and  useful,  they  shall  certify  the  same  to  the  court  the 
term  next  succeeding  their  appointment ;  and  the  court  there- 
upon shall  cause  the  proceedings  to  be  recorded;  and  their 
proceedings  shall  be  binding  and  conclusive  in  all  cases;  but 
if  they  shall  believe  such  laying  out  to  be  unnecessary  and 
injurious,  they  shall  certify  the  same  to  the  court  as  aforesaid, 
and  the  proceedings  of  the  surveyors  shall  then  be  null  and 
void. 

Law  to  Prevent  the  Spread  of  Canada  Thistle. 

If  any  person  or  persons  owning  or  having  the  care  of  any 
lands,  enclosed  or  unenclosed,  in  this  State,  shall  knowingly 
permit  any  Canada  thistle  to  grow  up  thereon,  and  suffer  the 
same  to  stand  until  its  seeds  get  ripe,  he  or  they  shall,  for  every 
stalk  or  bunch  thereof  so  suffered  to  grow  up,  forfeit  and  pay  a 
fine  of  twenty-five  cents;  to  be  sued  for  and  recovered,  with 
costs,  by  any  person,  in  his  name,  before  any  court  of  competent 
jurisdiction. 


105 

The  Law  as  to  the  Construction  of  Sidewalks. 

That  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  inhabitants  of  any  township  in 
this  State,  at  their  annual  meeting,  to  provide  for  the  construc- 
tion of  sidewalks  on  the  public  highway,  not  exceeding  in  width 
one-fifth  on  each  side  of  the  road  of  the  width  thereof,  and  also 
to  place  posts  or  railings  by  the  side  thereof,  which  sidewalks 
shall  be  constructed  out  of  any  money  raised  for  the  repairs  of 
highways;  and  the  amount  so  to  be  expended,  and  the  road  or 
place  where  the  sidewalks  shall  be  made,  shall  be  determined 
by  such  meeting  or  by  the  township  committee ;  provided,  that 
this  provision  shall  not  apply  to  any  public  highway,  which 
hath  been  or  which  shall  be  hereafter  laid  out,  of  a  less  width 
than  three  rods,  except  in  such  place  or  places  where  it  shall 
pass  through  a  city,  town,  or  village. 

And  it  shall  be  lawful  for  any  person  owning  or  occupying 
lands  adjoining  a  public  road  or  highway  in  any  township,  city, 
or  ward,  to  construct  sidewalks  on  said  highway  in  the  manner 
hereinbefore  provided,  contiguous  and  along  the  line  of  said  land. 

That  when  a  sidewalk  shall  have  been  constructed  as  afore- 
said, every  person  who  shall  ride  or  drive  a  horse  or  team 
thereon,  except  for  the  purpose  of  crossing  the  same,  when 
necessary  so  to  do,  shall  forfeit  and  pay  the  sum  of  five  dollars 
to  the  use  of  the  township,  to  be  sued  for  and  recovered  by  any 
person  who  shall  sue  for  the  same. 

SUPPLEMENT  TO  THE  FOREGOING  ACT. 

That  the  provisions  of  the  act  to  which  this  is  a  supplement, 
shall  not  authorize  the  construction  of  sidewalks  of  a  greater 
width  than  five  feet  on  each  side  of  any  public  road  or  highway 
in  this  State,  which  hath  been  or  which  shall  hereafter  be  laid 
out  of  a  less  width  than  three  rods,  except  in  such  place  or 
places  where  they  pass  through  the  cities,  towns,  or  villages  of 
this  State. 

As  to  Working  and  Maintaining  Public  Roads. 

The  township  committee  who  shall  be  hereafter  chosen  agree- 
abty  to  law,  in  the  respective  townships  of  this  State,  or  a 
majority  of  such  committee,  are  hereby  authorized  and  directed 
to  assign  and  appoint,  in  writing,  to  the  overseers  of  the  high- 


106 

ways,  respectively,  their  several  limits  and  divisions  of  the 
highways  within  such  township,  for  opening,  clearing  out, 
working,  amendment  and  repair,  and  the  said  overseers  are 
hereby  commanded  to  observe  and  conform  themselves  to  such 
assignment. 

That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  overseers  to  hire  labor- 
ers, and  also  horses,  oxen,  wagons,  ploughs,  carts  and  other 
implements  to  open,  clear  out,  make,  work,  amend,  repair  and 
keep  in  good  order  the  highways  within  their  respective  limits 
and  divisions,  to  make  causeways,  and  to  erect  such  bridges  as 
can  be  built  by  common  laborers,  and  to  procure  whatever 
materials  they  shall  deem  necessary  to  effect  the  purposes 
specified  in  this  section. 

That  the  moneys  necessary  for  defraying  the  costs,  charges 
and  expenses  of  opening,  clearing  out,  making,  working,  amend- 
ing, repairing  and  keeping  in  good  order  the  highways,  and 
procuring  materials  for  the  same,  and  also  the  compensation 
allowed  for  the  services  of  the  overseers  thereof,  shall  be  granted, 
assessed,  collected  and  raised  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  the 
act  entitled  "An  act  incorporating  the  inhabitants  of  townships, 
designating  their  powers  and  regulating  their  meetings";  and 
it  is  hereby  enjoined  upon  the  said  townships,  that  they  be 
careful  to  have  money  in  hand  ready  to  advance  sufficient  for 
the  objects  and  purposes  specified  in  this  act. 

Law  as  to  Cutting  Down  Trees  Along-  Highways. 

That  no  overseer  of  the  highways  or  other  person,  except  the 
owner  or  owners  thereof,  shall  cut  down,  willfully  injure,  or 
destroy  any  fruit,  shade  or  ornamental  tree  which  may  have 
been  or  which  shall  be  planted  or  set  out  by  the  owner  or  pos- 
sessor of  lands  adjoining  any  highway  in  this  State,  and  which 
shall  not  extend  more  than  seven  feet  out  from  the  line  of  the 
road  towards  the  center  of  the  same,  unless  the  township  com- 
mittee of  the  township  in  which  such  road  is  situate,  or  a 
majority  of  such  committee,  shall  first  order  the  cutting  down 
or  destroying  of  the  same. 

That  if  any  overseer  of  the  highway  or  other  person  shall 
offend  against  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  section,  he,  she 
or  they  so  offending  shall  forfeit  and  pay  the  sum  of  fifty  dol- 


107 

lars  for  each  and  every  such  offence,  to  be  recovered  in  an  action 
of  debt,  with  costs  of  suit,  in  any  court  having  cognizance 
thereof,  by  any  person  who  may  prosecute  for  the  same,  within 
six  months  after  such  offence  shall  have  been  committed,  pro- 
vided that  this  act  shall  not  prevent  any  overseer  from  clearing 
out  any  highways  to  their  full  width  where  they  pass  through 
any  wood  or  forest. 

Law  Against  Girdling  Trees  Along  Highways. 

That  no  tree  shall  be  girdled  or  killed  on  the  highways,  under 
the  penalty  of  two  dollars,  to  be  recovered  by  action  of  debt, 
with  costs,  by  the  overseer  of  the  highways,  in  any  court  of 
record  having  cognizance  of  that  sum,  and  applied  to  the  work- 
ing and  repair  of  the  highways ;  and  if  any  such  tree  shall  be 
girdled  or  killed  in  the  manner  aforesaid,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
the  said  overseer  forthwith  to  cut  down  such  tree  so  girdled  or 
killed. 

That  if  any  person  shall  girdle  or  kill  any  tree  standing  within 
two  rods  of  such  highway,  the  owner  or  possessor  of  the  land 
where  the  same  stands  shall,  within  two  years  after  such  girdling 
or  killing,  cut  down  the  said  tree;  or,  on  failure  thereof,  shall 
forfeit  and  pay  two  dollars,  to  be  recovered  and  applied  in  the 
manner  above  set  forth. 

The  Law  as  to  Wheel  Carriages. 

That  all  wagons  and  other  wheel  carriages  of  any  kind  or 
description  whatever,  drawn  by  one  or  more  horse  or  horses, 
oxen,  or  other  cattle,  made  and  constructed,  and  all  axle-trees 
made  or  repaired  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  October,  A.D. 
1874,  traveling  or  passing  on  or  through  the  roads  or  highways 
within  this  State,  belonging  to  persons  resident  therein,  shall 
run  or  track  on  the  ground,  from  center  to  center  of  the  felloes, 
not  less  than  four  feet  and  ten  inches,  under  the  penalty  of  five 
dollars,  to  be  recovered  from  the  owner  or  owners,  proprietor  or 
proprietors  of  such  wagon  or  other  wheel  carriage,  for  each  and 
every  offence,  before  any  one  justice  of  the  peace  of  this  State, 
where  the  fact  shall  be  committed,  upon  the  oath  or  affirmation 
of  one  or  more  witness  or  witnesses.  Which  said  fine,  when 
recovered,  shall  be  paid,  one  moiety  thereof  to  the  overseers  of 


108 

the  highways  for  the  township,  division,  or  precinct  where  the 
fact  was  committed,  to  be  applied  toward  the  repair  of  the 
highways  within  the  same ;  and  the  other  moiety  to  be  paid  to 
the  person  or  persons  prosecuting  the  same  to  effect ;  and  the 
said  overseers  are  hereby  made  accountable  for  all  moneys  they 
may  receive  in  virtue  of  this  act,  in  the  same  manner  and  form 
as  they  are  for  other  fines  and  forfeitures ;  provided,  always, 
that  the  above  fines  shall  not  be  set  or  levied  more  than  once 
upon  one  journey,  and  that  every  information  relative  to  any 
breach  of  this  act  be  made  within  twenty  days  after  the  offence 
is  committed. 

Respecting  Railroads  and  Canals. 

Every  incorporated  company  that  hath  been  or  hereafter  may 
be  authorized  to  construct  any  railroad  in  this  State,  shall  cause 
to  be  placed  on  some  part  of  every  locomotive  engine  used  by 
any  such  company,  a  bell  of  a  weight  of  not  less  than  thirty 
pounds,  or  steam  whistle  which  can  be  heard  distinctly  at  a 
distance  of  at  least  three  hundred  yards  from  the  place  where 
any  such  railroad  crosses  a  turnpike  road  or  highway  upon  the 
same  level  with  the  said  railroad,  and  such  bell  shall  be  kept 
ringing,  or  such  whistle  shall  continue  to  be  blown,  until  the 
engine  has  crossed  such  turnpike  or  highway,  or  has  stopped. 

And  any  railroad  company  which  shall  construct  any  railroad 
by  virtue  of  powers  granted  in  their  charter  by  this  State,  may, 
in  crossing  any  public  highway,  for  the  purpose  of  making  such 
highway  cross  over  or  under  such  railroad  at  an*  easy  and  suit- 
able grade,  alter  the  location  of  such  highway  at  their  own 
expense,  so  far  as  shall  be  necessary  to  make  such  highway  pass 
over  or  under  said  railroad  at  such  grade,  and  such  alteration 
shall  be  valid  and  of  the  same  effect  as  if  made  by  surveyors  of 
the  highway  according  to  law.  And  all  alterations  heretofore 
made  in  any  public  highway  in  this  State,  by  any  such  railroad 
company,  for  the  purpose  and  in  the  manner  aforesaid,  are 
hereby  confirmed  and  made  valid  as  if  the  same  had  been  made 
by  the  surveyors  of  the  highway  according  to  law. 

If  any  person  shall  be  injured  by  a  locomotive  engine,  car  or 
cars  while  walking,  standing  or  playing  on  any  railroad  in  this 
State,  or  by  jumping  on  or  off  a  car  while  in  motion,  such  per- 


109 

son  shall  be  deemed  to  have  contributed  to  the  injury  sustained, 
and  shall  not  recover  any  damages  therefor  from  the  company 
owning  or  operating  the  said  railroad ;  provided,  however,  that 
this  section  shall  not  apply  to  any  person  or  persons  crossing  a 
railroad  at  any  lawful  public  or  private  crossing. 

Every  railroad  company  shall  cause  a  board  with  this  inscrip- 
tion, "  Look  out  for  the  locomotive,"  to  be  erected  and  main- 
tained wherever  the  road  of  such  company  may  be  crossed  by 
any  turnpike  road  or  public  highway,  so  as  to  be  easily  seen  by 
travelers. 

If  any  such  company  shall  refuse  or  neglect  to  comply  with 
the  foregoing  provisions,  they  shall  forfeit  for  every  such  refusal 
or  neglect,  the  sum  of  one  hundred  dollars,  to  be  sued  for  by 
the  clerk  of  any  township  in  which  such  refusal  or  neglect  shall 
occur,  for  the  use  of  said  township,  and  to  be  recovered,  with 
costs,  in  action  of  debt  in  any  court  having  cognizance  thereof; 
provided,  that  all  complaints  of  any  refusal  or  neglect  to  com- 
ply with  said  provisions  shall  have  been  made  within  ten  days 
thereafter;  and,  provided  further,  that  nothing  herein  contained 
shall  be  construed  to  take  away  from  any  individual  or  individ- 
uals any  right  he,  she  or  they  may  have  to  recover  damages  for 
any  injury  which  may  be  incurred  by  any  refusal  or  neglect  to 
comply  with  the  requirements  of  this  act. 

If  any  person  shall  willfully  obliterate,  destroy  or  injure  any 
such  board  so  as  aforesaid  erected,  he,  she  or  they  so  offending 
shall  forfeit  for  every  such  offence  the  sum  of  twenty  dollars,  to 
be  recovered,  with  costs,  by  any  such  railroad  company,  in  an 
action  of  debt  before  any  court  having  cognizance  thereof,  for 
the  use  of  said  company. 

The  Law  as  to  the  Width  of  Public  Roads. 

That  every  public  road  or  highway  which  shall  be  hereafter 
laid  out  shall  not  be  more  than  four  rods  wide,  unless  a  greater 
width  shall  be  specified  in  the  notices  and  applications  for  the 
same ;  nor  shall  any  such  road  be  less  than  two  rods  wide,  unless 
the  same  be  laid  out  in  a  village,  borough  or  city,  and  where, 
by  reason  of  buildings  or  other  permanent  erections,  such  road 
cannot  be,  conveniently,  laid  out  of  such  width. 


110 

That  every  private  road  which  shall  be  hereafter  laid  out  shall 
not  be  more  than  thirty  feet  in  width,  but  may  be  less,  at  the 
discretion  of  the  surveyors. 

The  Law  to  Prevent  the  Defacement  of  Natural  Scenery. 

That  without  the  previous  consent  of  the  owner,  all  persons 
are  hereafter  prohibited  from  advertising  their  wares  or  occupa- 
tion, by  printed  notices  of  the  same,  on  fences  or  other  private 
property,  or  upon  cliffs  or  rocks  or  other  natural  objects. 

And  all  persons  violating  the  provisions  of  the  above  para- 
graph shall  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  ten  dollars  for  each  offence, 
to  be  recovered  before  a  justice  of  the  peace;  the  action  to  be 
brought  in  debt,  in  the  corporate  name  of  the  township,  borough 
or  city  in  which  such  offence  shall  be  committed ;  one-half  of 
which  said  fine  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  informer  or  prosecutor 
of  such  action,  the  other  half  to  the  overseer  of  the  poor  of  the 
township,  borough  or  city  in  which  such  offence  shall  have 
been  committed. 

Malicious  Mischief. 

Whosoever  shall  unlawfully  and  maliciously  pull,  or  throw 
down,  or  in  anywise  destroy  any  bridge,  whether  over  any 
stream  of  water  or  otherwise,  under  which  bridge  any  highway, 
railway  or  canal  shall  pass,  or  do  any  injury  with  intent,  and 
so  as  thereby  to  render  such  bridge,  viaduct,  or  the  highway, 
railway  or  canal  passing  over  or  under  the  same,  or  any  part 
thereof,  dangerous  or  impassable,  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misde- 
meanor, and  shall  be  liable  to  imprisonment  at  hard  labor,  not 
over  one  year,  or  fine,  not  over  two  hundred  dollars,  or  both. 

As  to  Certain  Crimes. 

Whoever  shall  unlawfully  and  maliciously  destroy  or  damage 
any  statue,  bust  or  vase,  or  any  other  article  or  thing  kept  for 
the  purpose  of  art,  science  or  literature,  or  as  an  object  of  curi- 
osity in  any  museum,  gallery,  cabinet,  library  or  other  reposi- 
tory, which  museum,  gallery,  cabinet,  library  or  other  repository 
is  open  for  the  admission  of  the  public,  or  of  any  considerable 
number  of  persons,  to  view  the  same,  either  by  permission  of 
the  proprietor  thereof,  or  by  the  payment  of  money  before 
entering  the  same;  or  any  picture,  statue,  monument,  or  other 


Ill 

memorial  of  the  dead,  or  other  ornament  in  any  church  or  other 
place  of  divine  worship,  or  in  any  building,  or  in  any  church- 
yard, burial  ground,  or  public  garden  or  ground,  or  any  orna- 
ment, railing  or  fence  surrounding  such  statue  or  monument, 
shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and,  being  convicted  thereof, 
shall  be  liable  to  be  imprisoned  for  any  term  not  exceeding  six 
months,  or  fined  two  hundred  dollars. 

Whosoever  shall  steal  or  cut,  break,  root  up,  or  otherwise 
destroy  or  damage,  with  intent  to  steal,  the  whole  or  any  part 
of  any  tree,  sapling  or  shrub,  or  any  underwood  or  plant,  root, 
fruit  or  vegetable  production,  wheresoever  the  same  may  be 
growing,  or  shall  steal,  or  shall  cut,  break  or  throw  down,  with 
intent  to  steal,  any  fence  or  any  wooden  post,  pale,  wire  or  rail 
set  up  or  used  as  a  fence,  or  any  stile  or  gate,  or  any  part 
thereof,  respectively,  he  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and, 
on  conviction  thereof,  shall  be  liable  to  be  punished  as  in  case 
of  larceny. 

As  to  Disorderly  Persons. 

Any  person  who  shall  enter  the  buildings  or  go  upon  the 
lands  belonging  to  any  public  school  district  of  this  State,  or 
used  and  occupied  for  school  purposes,  by  any  public  school  in 
this  State,  and  shall  break,  injure  or  deface  such  building,  or 
any  part  thereof,  or  the  fences  or  out-houses  belonging  to  or 
connected  with  such  building  or  lands,  or  shall  disturb  the 
exercises  of  such  public  school,  or  molest  or  give  annoyance  to 
the  children  attending  such  school,  or  any  teacher  therein,  shall 
be  deemed  and  adjudged  to  be  a  disorderly  person,  and  may  be 
apprehended  in  the  manner  hereinafter  described  in  this  act, 
and  taken  before  any  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  county  where 
such  person  may  be  apprehended.  And  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
the  said  justice  to  commit  such  disorderly  person,  when  con- 
victed before  him  by  the  confession  of  the  offender  or  by  the 
oath  or  affirmation  of  one  or  more  witnesses,  to  the  county  jail 
of  such  county,  there  to  be  kept  at  hard  labor  for  any  term  not 
exceeding  thirty  days. 

An  Act  to  Define  and  Suppress  Tramps. 
That  the  following  described  persons  are  hereby  declared  to 
be  tramps :     All  persons  who  shall  come  from  any  place  with- 


112 

out  this  State,  or  from  any  city,  county,  township,  borough  or 
place  in  this  State,  and  have  no  legal  settlement  in  the  places 
in  which  they  are  found,  and  live  idly  and  without  employment, 
and  refuse  to  work  for  the  usual  and  common  wages  given  to 
other  persons  for  like  work  in  the  place  where  they  then  are,  or 
shall  be  found  going  about  from  door  to  door,  or  placing  them- 
selves in  the  streets,  highways  or  roads  to  beg  or  gather  alms, 
and  can  give  no  reasonable  account  of  themselves  or  their 
business  in  such  places. 

That  if  any  person  shall  be  found  offending  in  any  county, 
city,  township,  borough  or  district  in  this  State,  against  this 
act,  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  any  constable  or  police 
officer  of  such  place,  and  he  is  hereby  enjoined  and  required, 
on  notice  thereof  to  him  given  by  any  of  the  inhabitants 
thereof,  or  without  such  notice,  on  his  own  view,,  to  apprehend 
and  convey,  or  cause  to  be  conveyed,  such  person  to  a  justice  of 
the  peace  or  other  magistrate  of  such  place,  who  shall  examine 
such  person,  and  shall  commit  him  or  her,  being  thereof  legally 
convicted  before  him,  on  his  own  view,  or  by  the  confession  of 
such  offenders,  or  by  the  oath  or  affirmation  of  one  or  more 
credible  witnesses,  to  labor  upon  any  county  farm  or  upon  the 
streets,  roads  and  highways  of  any  city,  township  or  borough, 
or  in  any  house  of  correction,  poor-house,  work-house  or  com- 
mon jail,  for  a  term  not  exceeding  six  months,  and  shall  forth- 
with commit  him  or  her  to  the  custody  of  the  steward,  keeper 
or  superintendent  of  such  county  farm,  house  of  correction, 
poor-house,  work-house  or  common  jail,  or  to  the  supervisors  or 
overseers  of  the  highways,  street  commissioners,  or  other  officer 
or  officers  having  in  charge  the  repairs  of  any  street,  road  or 
highway,  or  overseers  of  the  poor  of  the  respective  township, 
borough,  county  or  city  wherein  such  person  shall  be  found,  as 
in  their  judgment  shall  be  deemed  most  expedient. 

An  Act  to  Prevent  Trespassing  with  Guns. 

If  any  person  or  persons  shall  carry  any  gun  on  any  land  not 
his  own,  and  for  which  the  owner  pays  taxes,  or  is  in  his  lawful 
possession,  unless  he  hath  license  or  permission  in  writing  from 
the  owner  or  owners  or  legal  possessor,  every  such  person  so 
offending,  and  convicted  thereof,  either  upon  the  view  of  any 


113 

justice  of  the  peace  within  this  State,  or  by  the  oath  or  Affirma- 
tion of  one  or  more  witnesses,  before  any  justice  of  the  peace 
within  this  State,  or  by  the  oath  or  affirmation  of  one  or  more 
witnesses,  before  any  justice  of  the  peace  of  either  of  the  coun- 
ties, cities  or  towns  corporate,  of  this  State,  in  which  the  offender 
may  be  taken  or  reside,  he  shall,  for  every  such  offence,  forfeit 
and  pay  to  the  owner  of  the  soil,  or  bis  tenant  in  possession,  the 
sum  of  five  dollars,  with  costs  of  suit ;  which  forfeiture  may  and 
shall  be  sued  for  and  recovered  by  the  owner  of  the  soil  or  ten- 
ant in  possession,  before  any  justice  of  the  peace  in  this  State, 
for  the  use  of  such  owner  or  tenant  in  possession. 

Law  to  Prevent  the  Adulteration  of  Milk. 

If  any  person  shall  knowingly  sell  any  impure  or  unwhole- 
some milk,  he  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and 
on  conviction  thereof,  he  shall  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  not  less 
than  fifty  dollars  for  each  and  every  offence. 

And  if  any  person  shall  adulterate  milk  with  a  view  of  offer- 
ing the  same  for  sale,  he  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misde- 
meanor, and  on  conviction  thereof  shall  be  punished  by  a  fine 
of  not  less  than  fifty  dollars  for  each  and  every  offence. 

The  addition  of  water  to  milk  is  hereby  declared  to  be  an 
adulteration  thereof. 

Law  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals. 

That  any  person  who  shall  overdrive,  overload,  overwork, 
cruelly  beat  or  otherwise  abuse  any  living  animal,  and  any  per- 
son having  the  charge  of  any  living  animal,  who  inflicts  unnec- 
essary cruelty  upon  the  same,  or  fails  to  provide  the  same  with 
proper  food,  drink  or  shelter,  or  protection  from  the  weather, 
shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  for  every  such 
offence,  shall,  on  conviction  thereof,  be  punished,  by  fine  not 
exceeding  two  hundred  dollars,  or  by  imprisonment  in  the 
county  jail  not  exceeding  six  months,  or  both,  in  the  discretion 
of  the  court. 

And  any  person  who  shall  keep  or  use  any  place  for  the  pur- 
pose of  fighting  or  baiting  any  bull,  bear,  dog,  cock,  or  other 
living  animal  or  creature,  and  every  person  who  shall  be  pres- 
ent ard  witness,  encourage,  aid  or  assist  therein,  shall  be 


114 

deeme(}  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  for  every  such  offence, 
shall,  on  conviction  thereof,  be  punished  by  fine  not  exceeding 
one  thousand  dollars,  or  by  imprisonment  at  hard  labor  not 
exceeding  two  years,  or  both,  at  the  discretion  of  the  court. 

And  any  person  who  shall  use  any  dog  or  dogs  for  the  pur- 
pose of  drawing  any  cart  or  other  vehicle  for  business  or  other 
purposes,  shall  forfeit  and  pay  a  fine  of  one  dollar  for  the  first 
offence  and  ten  dollars  for  each  subsequent  offence — such 
offender,  together  with  the  dog,  cart  or  other  vehicle  shall  be 
taken  before  a  justice  of  the  peace  or  police  magistrate,  who, 
upon  being  satisfied,  shall  impose  said  fine,  which  said  fine,  as 
soon  as  imposed,  shall  have  the  force  and  effect  of  a  judgment, 
and  execution  may  be  immediately  issued  thereon,  and  the 
articles  so  seized  levied  upon  and  sold  to  pay  and  satisfy  the 
said  fine,  together  with  the  costs. 

That  if  a  maimed,  sick,  infirm  or  disabled  animal  shall  be 
abandoned  to  die,  by  any  person,  in  any  public  place,  such  per- 
son shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  on  conviction 
thereof  shall  be  punished  as  provided  for  in  the  beginning  of 
this  article.  That  any  person  who  shall  overdrive,  overwork, 
torture,  deprive  of  necessary  sustenance,  or  cruelly  beat  or  oth- 
erwise abuse  or  kill,  any  living  animal  or  creature,  and  every 
person  who  shall  be  present,  and  witness,  encourage  or  assist 
therein,  shall  forfeit  and  pay  such  sum,  not  exceeding  one  hun- 
dred dollars,  as  the  court  shall  determine,  to  be  sued  for  and 
recovered  in  an  action  of  debt,  with  costs  of  suit,  by  any  person, 
in  the  name  of  "  The  New  Jersey  Society  for  the  Prevention  of 
Cruelty  to  Animals." 

An  Act  for  the  Preservation  of  Sheep. 

When  any  person  shall  sustain  damage  or  injury  by  reason 
of  his  or  her  sheep  or  lambs  being  killed  or  wounded  by  a  dog 
or  dogs,  wolf  or  wolves,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  such  person  to 
take  two  respectable  freeholders  of  the  township  wherein  such 
damage  was  done,  who  are  in  nowise  akin  to  the  party  so  call- 
ing them,  to  view  the  sheep  or  lambs  so  killed  or  wounded,  and 
if  it  shall  appear  to  their  satisfaction  that  the  said  sheep  or 
lambs  were  killed  or  wounded  by  a  dog  or  dogs,  wolf  or  wolves, 
then  the  said  freeholders  shall  make  a  return  or  certificate 


115 

thereof  in  writing,  stating  the  amount  of  damages  such  person 
may  have  sustained,  which  shall  in  no  case  exceed  five  dollars 
for  one  sheep  or  lamb  so  killed  or  wounded,  which  said  certifi- 
cate shall  entitle  the  person  so  injured  to  the  sum  stated  therein 
as  the  damage  sustained,  to  be  paid  by  the  township  committee, 
in  conformity  to  the  provisions  made  therefor  in  the  fifth  sec- 
tion of  this  act.  And  in  case  the  damage  so  certified  shall 
appear  to  the  town  committee  to  be  excessive,  it  shall  and  may 
be  lawful  for  said  committee  to  require  the  facts  stated  and  the 
claim  exhibited,  to  be  investigated  before  them  on  oath  or 
affirmation,  and  shall  award  payment  accordingly.  Provided 
always,  that  nothing  herein  contained  shall  extend  to  cases 
wherein  a  recovery  of  damages  can  be  obtained  of  the  owner  or 
owners  of  such  dog  or  dogs  as  shall  have  committed  the  injury. 

Protection  Against  Mad  Dogs. 

The  mayor  of  any  incorporated  town  in  this  State,  by  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  common  council  of  the  town,  and  the 
township  clerk  of  any  township  in  this  State,  by  the  advice  of 
the  township  committee,  are  authorized,  whenever,  in  their 
opinion,  the  public  safety  may  require,  to  issue  his  proclama- 
tion authorizing  the  destruction  of  all  dogs,  male  and  female, 
found  running  at  large  within  the  limits  of  the  town,  except 
such  as  shall  be  properly  muzzled  with  a  wire  muzzle  about  the 
nose,  securely  fastened,  after  one  day's  public  notice  by  written 
or  printed  hand-bills ;  provided,  that  nothing  in  said  proclama- 
tion shall  apply  to  a  dog  or  dogs  of  a  non-resident  passing 
through  the  town  accompanied  by  the  owner  or  owners  of  such 
dog  or  dogs. 

An  Act  to  Prevent  Spread  of  Contagious  Diseases  Amongst 

Cattle. 

The  town  committee  of  each  township  of  this  State,  upon 
notice  of  the  existence  of  any  disease  among  cattle  in  their 
township,  are  authorized  personally  to  examine  the  cases,  and  if 
the  symptoms  which  characterize  contagious  diseases  are  exhib- 
ited, they  shall  cause  such  sick  animals  to  be  immediately 
removed  and  kept  separate  from  all  other  cattle ;  and  the 
remaining  cattle  of  said  owner  shall  be  kept  isolated  from  the 


116 

sick  ones,  and  both  they  and  the  sick  animals  shall  be  kept  dis- 
tant at  least  four  hundred  feet  from  the  public  road,  and  the 
same  distance  from  the  premises  of  all  neighbors. 

The  town  committee  are  also  authorized  to  prohibit  the 
importation  of  cattle  from  other  places  into  or  through  their 
respective  township ;  and  if  any  one  shall  import  or  drive  any 
cattle  into  or  through  any  township  after  the  same  shall  have 
been  publicly  prohibited  by  the  town  committee,  he  shall  pay  a 
fine  of  one  hundred  dollars  for  every  bull,  ox,  steer,  cow,  heifer 
or  calf  so  driven  into  a  township.  Any  person  who  shall  dis- 
pose of  any  cattle  or  stock,  knowing  it  to  be  subject  to  any  con- 
tagious disease,  shall  pay  a  fine  of  one  hundred  dollars  for  any 
such  animal  sold  within  the  township. 

The  persons  qualified  to  vote  at  town  meetings  are  authorized 
at  their  annual  meetings  to  make  such  provision  and  allow  such 
rewards  for  the  destruction  of  wolves,  wild-cats,  foxes,  crows, 
black-birds,  and  other  noxious  wild  animals  and  birds,  as  they 
so  assembled  shall  deem  necessary  or  proper. 

Destruction  of  Insectiverous,  Small  and  Harmless  Birds. 

That  it  shall  not  be  lawful  for  any  person  to  wantonly  shoot, 
entrap  for  the  purpose  of  killing,  or  in  any  other  manner  destroy 
any  upland  birds  whose  principal  food  is  insects,  comprised  in 
the  families  of  swallows,  fly-catchers,  finches,  larks,  wood-peck- 
ers and  other  species  and  varieties  of  land  birds  of  every 
description  regarded  as  harmless  in  their  habits,  and  whose 
flesh  is  unfit  for  food,  excepting  the  eagle,"  raven,  crow,  all 
hawks  and  owls  which  prey  upon  other  birds,  and  that  it  shall 
not  be  lawful  for  any  person  to  take  or  destroy  the  eggs  or 
young  of  any  of  the  species  of  birds  which  are  intended  to  be 
protected  by  this  act. 

And  if  complaint  is  made,  under  oath,  before  any  justice  of 
the  peace  of  this  State,  of  any  violation  of  the  foregoing  provi- 
sions, it  shall  be  the  duty  of  such  justice  to  forthwith  issue, 
under  his  hand  and  seal,  a  warrant  against  the  person  or  per- 
sons so  offending,  and  the  proceedings  before  the  justice  shall 
be  regulated  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  act  entitled  "An 
act  constituting  courts  for  the  trial  of  small  causes." 


117 

And  every  person  offending  against  the  provisions  of  this  act, 
shall,  on  conviction,  be  fined  in  any  sum  not  less  than  ten  or 
more  than  twenty  dollars,  with  costs  of  suit,  in  the  discretion  of 
the  court  before  whom  such  conviction  shall  be  had. 


As  the  school  law  is  published  in  full  in  pamphlet  form,  it 
has  not  been  thought  worth  while  to  make  any  extracts  there- 
from ;  but  the  editor  would  call  attention  to  that  provision  of 
the  law  which  authorizes  the  State  Superintendent  to  pay  to 
any  school,  which  shall  raise  twenty  dollars  by  subscription  for 
a  library  or  for  philosophical  apparatus,  a  like  sum  to  be  used 
for  the  same  purpose.  Furthermore,  so  long,  after  the  first  year, 
as  a  school  raises  ten  dollars  a  year  for  the  above  purpose,  the 
State  will  add  a  like  sum. 


The  following  clipping,  from  the  "Princeton  Press11  of  /September  llth, 
1880,  is  respectfully 

DEDICATED    TO   THE   LADIES. 


"  The  second  annual  meeting  of  this  Association  was  held  in 
the  Ewing  Church,  Thursday  afternoon.  There  was  a  large 
attendance,  evincing  interest  in  the  Association's  work.  But  that 
which  showed  the  deepest  interest  in  the  meeting  was  the  evident 
labor  bestowed  on  the  decoration  of  the  edifice.  The  audience- 
room  has  a  very  pleasing  appearance  of  itself,  and,  as  decorated, 
it  was  perfectly  beautiful.  Crossed  sheaves  of  'golden  grain' 
placed  against  the  closed  inside  blinds,  were  in  the  center  of  each 
window,  crowned  with  the  national  colors ;  large  vases  on  each 
window-sill  were  filled  with  plants  and  flowers;  a  spray  of 
evergreen  relieved  each  side  bracket;  the  book-rack  in  each 
pew  was  banked  with  green,  interspersed  with  bouquets  and  cut 
flowers,  while  a  wreath  of  the  same  fragrance  and  beauty  was 
carried  along  the  top  of  the  dividing  line  between  the  rows  of 
pews.  The  platform  was  graced  with  a  variety  of  rare  plants, 
and  the  initials  of  the  Association,  in  evergreen,  formed  a  back- 
ground for  the  whole.  Altogether  it  has  not  been  our  pleasure 
to  have  ever  seen  more  tasteful  decorations. 

"  Hon.  A.  B.  Green,  President,  presided.  Rev.  Dr.  Lowrie, 
pastor  of  the  church,  and  a  member  of  the  society,  offered 
prayer.  Musical  selections  from  Auber,  Liszt,  Meyerbeer,  and 
Mendelssohn  were  played  on  the  piano  and  organ,  of  course  in 
a  masterly  way,  by  Prof.  Allmuth  and  Mr.  Van  Kuren." 


CONSTITUTION 

OF  THE 

WEST  EWING  IMPROVEMENT  ASSOCIATION. 


We,  the  residents  of  the  township  of  Ewing,  county  of  Mercer 
and  State  of  New  Jersey,  in  order  to  form  an  Association  to 
improve  and  ornament  the  public  roads  and  grounds,  do  ordain 
and  establish  this  Constitution  for  said  Association. 

ARTICLE  I. 

This  Association  shall  be  called  "  THE  WEST  EWING  IMPROVE- 
MENT ASSOCIATION." 

ARTICLE  II. 

The  object  of  this  Association  shall  be  to  improve  and  orna- 
ment the  public  roads  and  grounds  of  the  township,  by  plant- 
ing and  cultivating  trees,  establishing  and  maintaining  walks, 
grading  and  draining  the  roadways,  providing  public  drinking 
troughs,  breaking  out  paths  through  the  snow,  lighting  canal 
bridges,  and  generally  doing  whatever  may  tend  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  township  as  a  place  of  residence. 

ARTICLE  III. 

The  officers  of  this  Association  shall  be  a  President,  two  Vice- 
Presidents,  a  Secretary  and  a  Treasurer,  who  shall  constitute  the 
Executive  Committee. 

The  officers  shall  be  elected  at  the  annual  meeting,  (except 
for  the  first  election,  which  shall  take  place  October  8th,  1878,) 
and  shall  hold  their  offices  until  their  successors  have  been 
elected. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  President,  and,  in  his  absence,  of 
the  senior  Vice-President,  to  preside  at  all  meetfngs  of  the 


120 

Association,  and  to  carry  out  all  orders  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee. 

ARTICLE  V. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  to  keep  a  correct  and 
careful  record  of  all  proceedings  of  the  Association  and  of  the 
Executive  Committee,  in  a  book  suitable  for  their  preservation ; 
to  give  notice  of  all  meetings  of  the  Association  and  of  the 
Executive  Committee;  to  make  all  publications,  and  to  give  all 
public  and  private  notices  ordered  by  the  Executive  Committee, 
and  to  attend  to  all  correspondence  of  the  Association. 

ARTICLE  VI. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  .Treasurer  to  keep  the  funds  of  the 
Association,  and  to  make  such  disbursements  as  may  be  ordered 
by  the  Executive  Committee. 

ARTICLE  VII. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Executive  Committee  to  employ 
all  laborers,  make  all  contracts,  expend  all  moneys,  and  gener- 
ally to  direct  and  superintend  all  improvements  which,  in  their 
discretion,  and  with  the  means  at  their  command,  will  best 
serve  the  public  interest. 

The  Executive  Committee  shall  hold  a  meeting  at  least  once 
a  month,  and  as  much  oftener  as  they  may  deem  expedient. 

The  Executive  Committee  shall  have  power  to  institute  pre- 
miums to  be  awarded  for  planting  and  protecting  ornamental 
trees,  and  for  doing  such  other  acts  as  may  seem  t*o  them  worthy 
of  such  encouragement.  They  shall  also  encourage  frequent 
public  meetings  of  the  Association,  and  of  citizens  generally, 
both  with  a  view  to  maintain  an  interest  in  their  work,  and  for 
the  general  encouragement  of  meeting  together  for  discussion 
and  amusement. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Executive  Committee  to  obtain  the 
preparation  of  papers  on  topics  directly  bearing  on  the  work  of 
the  Association,  which  shall  be  read  at  the  social  meetings. 

ARTICLE  VIII. 

Auxiliary  to  the  Executive  Committee  there  shall  be  sub- 
committees of  an  advisory  nature,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  pro- 


121 

mote  the  objects  of  the  Association  in  their  district,  by  interest- 
ing all  members  of  the  community  in  the  work,  and  suggesting 
improvements  most  needed  in  their  immediate  neighborhoods. 

These  committees  shall  be  especially  charged  with  preserving 
and  carefully  providing  for  the  safety  of  trees  planted,  and 
other  improvements  effected  in  their  districts.  They  shall  be 
composed  of  two  ladies  and  one  gentleman,  and  shall  offer  their 
suggestions  at  the  social  meetings. 

These  committees  shall  be  appointed  by  the  President  of  the 
Association. 

ARTICLE  IX. 

Three  members  of  the  Executive  Committee,  present  at  any 
meeting,  shall  constitute  a  quorum  for  transacting  business,  and 
a  vote  of  the  majority  of  those  present  shall  be  binding  on  the 
Association. 

ARTICLE  X. 

No  debt  shall  be  contracted  by  the  Executive  Committee 
beyond  the  amount  of  available  funds  within  their  control  to 
pay  it ;  and  no  member  of  the  Association  shall  be  liable  for 
any  debt  of  the  Association  beyond  the  amount  of  his  or  her 
subscription. 

ARTICLE  XI. 

Every  person  over  fourteen  years  of  age,  who  shall  plant  a 
tree  under  the  direction  of  the  Executive  Committee,  and 
obligate  himself  or  herself  to  protect  it  for  three  years,  or  who 
shall  pay  the  sum  of  one  dollar  annually,  shall  be  a  member  of 
this  Association,  and  every  child  under  fourteen  years  of  age, 
who  shall  pay  the  sum  of  twenty-five  cents  annually,  shall  be 
a  member  of  this  Association. 

ARTICLE  XII. 

The  payment  of  ten  dollars  annually  for  three  years,  or  twenty- 
five  dollars  in  one  sum,  shall  constitute  a  person  a  member  of 
this  Association  for  life. 

ARTICLE  XIII. 

The  autograph  signatures  of  all  members  of  the  Association 
shall  be  preserved  in  a  book  suitable  for  that  purpose. 


122 

ARTICLE  XIV. 

An  annual  meeting  of  the  Association  shall  be  held  at  such  a 
place  as  the  Executive  Committee  may  direct,  on  the  fourth 
Wednesday  of  August,  at  two  o'clock  P.M.  Notice  of  such 
meeting  shall  be  posted  at  the  five  most  public  places  in  the 
district,  at  least  seven  days  prior  to  the  time  of  holding  said 
meeting,  and  a  written  notice  shall  be  sent  to  all  non-resident 
members.  Other  meetings  of  the  Association  may  be  called  by 
the  Executive  Committee,  on  due  notice  being  given. 

ARTICLE  XV. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  the  Executive  Committee  shall  report 
the  amount  of  money  received  during  the  year,  and  the  source 
from  which  it  has  been  received;  the  amount  of  money 
expended  during  the  year,  and  the  objects  for  which  it  has  been 
expended ;  the  number  of  trees  planted  at  the  cost  of  the  Asso- 
ciation ;  the  number  planted  by  individuals,  with  the  location, 
the  kind  of  tree  and  the  name  of  the  planter,  and  generally  all 
of  the  acts  of  the  committee.  This  report  shall  be  entered  on 
the  record  of  the  Association. 

ARTICLE  XVI. 

Any  person  who  shall  plant  a  tree  under  the  direction  of  the 
Executive  Committee,  and  shall  protect  it  for  five  years,  shall 
be  entitled  to  have  such  tree  known  forever  by  his  or  her  name. 

ARTICLE  XVII. 

This  Constitution  may  be  amended  by  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee, with  the  approval  of  the  majority  of  the  members 
present,  at  any  annual  meeting  of  the  Association,  or  at  any 
special  meeting,  the  notice  of  which  shall  have  been  accompanied 
by  a  copy  of  the  proposed  amendment,  with  the  statement  that 
the  amendment  is  to  be  voted  on  at  such  meeting. 


BY-LAWS. 


I.  The  Executive  Committee  shall  grant  a  certificate  of  merit, 
of  an  artistic  design,  to  such  of  the  school  children  as  shall  be 
certified  by  their  teachers  to  have  shown  special  zeal  in  keeping 
the  surroundings  of  the  school-houses  neat  and  clean,  or  in 
beautifying  them  in  any  way.  These  certificates  to  be  pre- 
sented by  the  President — the  committee,  or  some  of  them,  being 
present — on  the  first  Wednesday  in  June,  at  the  morning  ses- 
sion for  Scudder's  Falls,  and  afternoon  session  for  Birmingham 
and  Brookville. 

II.   RULES  FOR  TREE  PLANTING. 

1.  Trees  shall  be  planted  on  the  road  side  of  the  line,  and  at  a 
distance  of  four  feet  therefrom,  except  in  the  case  of  roads  two 
rods  wide  and  under,  when  the  permission  of  the  property- 
holder  shall  be  obtained,  to  set  them  one  foot  from  the  line,  in 
the  field. 

2.  The  trees  shall  be  set  apart  a  distance  of  150  feet,  the 
opposite  rows  alternating. 

3.  The  following  trees  are  recommended  as  best  for  road 
planting,  viz. :   Sugar  Maple,  Norway  Maple,  Elm,  White  Ash, 
Linden,   Horse   Chestnut,  Water   Birch,   Mountain   Ash,  and 
occasionally  a  fruit  tree. 

III.  The  members  of  this  Association  shall,  as  a  body  and  as 
individuals,  use  their  influence  to  prevent  the  erection  of  adver- 
tising placards  of  any  description,  and  to  this  end  mutually 
agree  to  remove  or  cause  to  be  removed,  within  ten  days  from 
June  1st,  1879,  any  such  signs  on  the  property  of  any  of  them, 
whether  painted  on  barns,  fences  or  stones,  or  nailed  or  pasted 
on  trees  or  fences,  or  otherwise  constructed,  except  legal  notices 
and  the  usual  advertisements  of  church  festivals,  which  latter 
shall  be  allowed  to  stand  for  ten  days  before  the  date  of  the 
festival. 


124 

IV.  Hereafter  any  person,  upon  compliance  with  Article  XI 
of  the  Constitution,  may  be  elected  a  member  of  this  Associa- 
tion, on  the  nomination  of  any  member  whose  dues  are  paid, 
and  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  whose  dues  are  paid. 

V.  No  charge  shall  be  made  for  the  patent  road-scraper  for 
private  use,  by  members  of  the  Association.     To  all  others,  and 
for  work  on  the  public  roads,  the  charge  shall  be  five  dollars 
per  day,  the  Association  furnishing  a  man  to  work  the  machine 
(whom  the  Executive  Committee  shall  pay  a  sum  not  to  exceed 
one  dollar  and  a  quarter),  but  no  team.     In  all  cases  the  consent 
of  the  Executive  Committee  must  first  be  obtained. 


LIST   OF   BOOKS 

Which  will  be  found  valuable  to  those  interested  in  Rural  and  Sanitary 
Improvement  Associations. 


Air  and  Its  Relations  to  Life,  by  W.  N.  Hartley.    $1.50. 

A  Pictorial  Guide  to  Domestic  Sanitary  Defects,  by  T.  Pridgin  Teale, 
M.A.,  Surgeon  to  the  General  Infirmary  at  Leeds.  With  55  litho- 
graphs. 8vo.  $4. 

A  Treatise  on  Ventilation,  by  Lewis  W.  Leeds.     $2.50. 

Drainage  for  Profit  and  Draining  for  Health,  by  George  E.  Waring, 
Jr.  $1.50. 

Frankland's  Water  Analysis  for  Sanitary  Purposes.     $1. 

HasselFs  Food  and  Its  Adulterations. 

Health  and  Comfort  in  House  Building,  by  J.  Drysdale,  M.D.,  and 
J.  W.  Hayward,  M.D.  Second  Edition.  $3. 

Healthy  Houses,  by  Wm.  Eassie.     $L 

Healthy  Houses,  by  Fleming  Jenkin,  F.R.S.,  adapted  to  American 
Conditions  by  George  E.  Waring,  Jr.  Harpers'  Half- Hour  Series.  25 
cents. 

Heat,  as  applied  to  the  Useful  Arts,  for  the  Use  of  Engineers,  Archi- 
tects, etc.,  by  Thomas  Box.  $5, 

House  Drainage  and  Water  Service,  by  James  C.  Bayles.     $3. 

Lecture  on  Water  Supply,  Sewage  and  Sewage  Utilization,  by  W.  H. 
Corfield,  M.A.  50  cents. 

Parkes'  Hygiene,  edited  by  De  Chaumont.     $6. 

Sanitary  Engineering,  by  Baldwin  Latham. 

Sanitary  Engineering,  by  J.  Bailey  Denton. 

Sanitary  Work  in  Towns  and  Villages,  by  Charles  Slagg. 

The  House  and  Its  Surroundings.     40  cents. 

The  Sanitary  Drainage  of  Houses  and  Towns,  by  George  E.  Waring, 
Jr.  $2. 

Villages  and  Village  Life,  by  Rev.  N.  H.  Eggleston.    $1.75. 

Village  Improvements  and  Farm  Villages,  by  Col.  George  E.  War- 
ing, Jr.  75  cents. 

Wanklyn  and  Chapman's  Water  Analysis.    $2.50. 

Wilson's  Hand-Book  of  Hygiene.    $3. 

Any  of  the  above  books  may  be  obtained  at  the  office  of  THE  SANI- 
TARY ENGINEER,  140  William  Street,  New  York.  P.  0.  Box  3037. 


INDEX. 


PAGE. 

Anniversary  Meeting 1 

Address  of  President 1 

"       "  Hon.  B.  G.  Northrop 7 

"       "  Col.  Geo.  E.  Waring 25 

Constitution  and  By-Laws 119 

Drainage  for  Health 77 

Factory  Adornment 72 

Hedges 58 

Heating  and  Ventilation 83 

Laws  of  New  Jersey 103 

Lawns 70 

Lenox  System 74 

Keport  of  Col.  Geo.  E.  Waring 42 

Cellars 42 

Furnace 42 

Sunlight  and  Fresh  Air 43 

The  Privy 45 

Disposal  of  Kitchen  Sink  Waste 47 

Bays  at  the  Side  of  the  Canal 54. 

Keeler's  Mill-dam 55 

Roadways 64 

Sidewalks...                           62 


MYERS'  SANITARY  DEPOT, 

Formerly  JENNINGS'  SANITARY  DEPOT, 

94    BEEKMAN    STREET,   NEW    YORK. 


BURKES'  STONE  LAUNDRY  TUBS. 


A  LOST  ART  RESTORED.— The  manufacture  of  vessels  from  Cement,  after  the  manner 
and  style  of  the  ancient  Romans,  has  been  successfully  accomplished  in  these  Laundry  Tubs. 
We  guarantee  them;  the  longer  they  are  in  use  the  more  durable  they  become. 

Send  for  descriptive  circulars  of  these,,  and  many  other  Plumbers' Supplies  having  for  £h©i? 
special  object  the  exclusion  of 

SEWER    QA.S. 

A.  G.  MYERS,  94  BEEKMAN  STREET,  NEW  YORK. 

TO.  THE  THOUGHTFUL  READER  I 

Every  man  of  education  should  be  interested  in  sanitary  science. 

Every  good  citizen  ought  to  care  for  questions  of  public  health. 

Lastly,  every  householder  and  man  of  family  should  be  concerned  about  the 
health  of  those  around  him.  i 

All  these  subjects  are  fully  discussed  in  THE  SANITARY  ENGINEER,  not  in  a 
superficial  and  temporary  way,  but  by  the  most  competent  writers- all  experts  in 
tne  several  departments  of  drainage,  heating,  lighting,  ventilatiQn,  public  and  per- 
sona] hygiene,  which  this  journal  treats. 

Among  its  regular  contributors',  are  Col.  Geo.  E.  Waring,  Jr.,  C,E.,  of  Newport,  R.  I.;  Edw. 
S.  Philbrick,  C.E.,  of  Boston;  Wm.  E.  Worthen.  C.E.,  and  J.  J.  R.  Croes,  C.E.,  of  New  York,  who 
write  upon  Sanitary  Engineering  subjects.  Prof,  Henry  Morton,  President  of  Stevens  Institute, 
treats  topics  connected  with  physics  and  chemistry,  and  during  the  past  year  has  very  fully  dis- 
cussed the  Electric  Light,  Water  Gas  and  Food  Adulteration;  while  other  chemical  topics  are 
treated  by  Prof.  C.  F. 'Chandler,  of  New  York,  and  Prof.  E.  S.  Wood,  of  Cambridge,  Robert 
Brings,  C*E.,  of  Philadelphia,  anil  John  S,  Billings,  Surgeon,  U.  S.  A.,  have  in  charge  Ventilating 
and  Heating  topics.  ''School  Hygiene"  is  the  specialty  of  Dr.  D.  F.  Lincoln,  of  Boston,  and  Hon. 
John  D.  Philbrick,  LL.D.,  U.  S.  Commissioner  at  Vienna  and  Paris  Exhibitions.  Prof.  Ed w.  S. 
Wood,  of  the  Harvard  Medical  School,  has  discussed  Arsenical  Poisoning.  Dr.  Chas.  Smart, 
U.S.A.,  has  written  upon  Water  Analysis,  and  E.  G.  Love,  Ph.D.,  of  the  School  of  Mines,  upon  Gas 
Topics.  Tenement-House  Reform  has  been  treated  by  Chas.  L.  Brace  and  others.  In  short,  alt 
subjects  are  discussed  by  specialists. 

In  addition  to  these  contributors,  arrangements  have  recently  been  made  to  receive  addi- 
tional communications  from  the  following  gentlemen  upon  subjects  within  their  special  province, 
viz.:  — W.  n.  Lindley,  M.  Inst..  C.E..  Frankfort-on-the-Main  ;  Prof.  Henry  Robinson,  M.  Inst,  C.E., 
London.  Eng;  Rtigers  Field.  }[.  fast..  C.E..  London,  Eng.;  R.  P.  Spice,  M.  Inst.  r  C.E.,  London. 
Eng. ;  G.  W.  Wignpr,  F.C.S..  London.  Eng.;  W.  Ea<«ie,  C.E.,  London,  Eng.;  George  Wilson,  M.A., 
M.D..  F.C.S.,  Leamington.  Eng.;  Neil  Carmichael,  31. D.,  Glasgow.  Scotland,  and  others. 

The  demand  for  the  First  and  Second  Volumes  has  s<>  reduced  the  number  of  copies,  that 
the  price  for  First  Volume,  bound,  is  now  $12;  Second  Volume,  bound,  §7;  Second  Volume, 
unbound.  So. 

p.uestions  are  solicited  from  persons  seeking  information  on  any  of  the  subjects  treated 
by  this  journal,  and  will  be  answered  through  its  columns,  WITHOUT  CHARGE,  when  they  are  of 
general  interest. 

Issued  on  the  1st  and  loth  of  each  month.     Subscription  price,  $2  per  year;  $1  for  six 
months.    Published  at  HO  William  Street,  New  York.    P.  O.  Box  :3W. 
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